Two Men And a Truck Issues Defibrillator Challenge To Other Vehicle Companies

By Karen Bliss 2/8/12 | www.samaritanmag.com

Photo credit: Paul Casselman
Canadian moving truck company is hoping other companies will keep on trucking but with a defibrillator on board.

Two Men And A Truck has equipped all of its trucks with a “Mikey” defibrillator as part of the Mikey-on-Board program and brought in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to train all its franchisees, drivers and staff on how to operate one.

“We hope we never have to use these Mikeys, but when you consider the physical nature of moving, it makes sense to have defibrillators on our trucks, in case our movers or families involved in a move have a problem,” Two Men And a Truck COO Dan Hopkins said in a press statement.

“And, there is always the possibility of someone going into sudden cardiac arrest walking down the street, or perhaps being in a car accident. So with our trucks on the road, we are now in a position to be able to respond should someone need help.”

Mikey-on-Board is just one of the programs offered by The Mikey Network, which also devised The Mikey’s Young At Heart School Defibrillator Program; Mikey On the Go; Mikey’s Kids – The Mikey At Home; and Mikey Cops Are Tops.

The registered Canadian charity is named after Mike Salem of Heathwood Homes and The Heron Group who experienced sudden cardiac arrest and died on a golf course in 2002. Since The Mikey Network formed in 2003, more than 1,200 Mikey defibrillators have been placed in high-risk locations across Canada and 12 lives have been saved to date.

SCA is the leading killer of Canadians. Over 10 percent of occurrences happen in public, and victims who are not revived within 3 to 5 minutes usually die. The use of a public-access defibrillator by a trained ‘target responder’ within the first moments can improve the victim’s survival rate by up to 75 percent.

“These moving trucks with their EMS-trained personnel circulate throughout their communities every day and by carrying a Mikey, they carry a second chance at life for people who might be affected by sudden cardiac arrest. This program is a tremendous venture and for Two Men And A Truck in Canada, it’s an industry first,” said Hugh Heron, chairman of Mikey Network and president of Heathwood Homes.

“We challenge other companies with vehicles on the road to follow suit and install Mikeys and have their staff trained in CPR/AED.”

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