People with wheelchairs or strollers aren't the only ones experiencing difficulty accessing the second level of the the Downtown Chatham Centre.
Chatham-Kent EMS say they faced some accessibility challenges at the mall while they were responding for a call about a man who went into cardiac arrest. However, a public access defibrillator that was available there is also getting some of the credit for saving that man's life.
Chatham-Kent Fire and EMS Assistant Chief Scott Ramey says a man went to cardiac arrest last week while he was leaving the Downtown Chatham Centre with a family member. Ramey says the man complained he was not feeling well and collapsed on the top level of the parking garage.
"Their family member sought assistance through the mall security, who called 911 and then responded to this person. [They] performed bystander CPR and brought the public access defibrillator with them. [They then] delivered a shock to the patient. That shock initially resulted in the return of a pulse," says Ramey.
According to Ramey, the ambulance quickly arrived at the mall, but couldn't get to the patient through the parking garage.
"With the parking structure where this occurred, there's height restrictions and limitations, which made it difficult for vehicles to get up because the ambulance and response vehicles don't fit under the parking deck height restrictions. The crew had to park around the side of the building and go through the mall," he says.
Ramey says through assistance and coordination from paramedic managers, EMS responders were able to reach the patient by going through the mall, up to the second floor. Ramey says the man went into cardiac arrest again by the time responders got to him so they had to perform another shock with the defibrillator.
Paramedics then loaded the patient onto a stretcher and took him down through the mall in a small elevator, which can be a challenge for stretchers to fit into.
"Parts of the stretcher collapse down and fold. Sometimes you have to fold the head into the stretcher down and sit the patient upright in order to fit the stretcher into a small elevator. If that doesn't work, then there's other devices such as a 'stair chair', which is like an upright chair that acts as a stretcher and will fit in even smaller places," explains Ramey.
Ramey says the man was then put in the ambulance to be taken to the hospital, where he was later stabilized.
"This case was an example of exactly of how the system is supposed to work to help save somebody's life. The key features are that the family member knew exactly what to do and that was to seek help immediately. If they started CPR themselves and didn't have a cell phone to call, they wouldn't have help arrive," says Ramey.
Ramey says fortunately, paramedics are trained to deal with all sorts of situations-- including buildings with accessibility challenges.
"That's part of the challenge of being a paramedic -- it's mobile health care. Paramedics work in your home, outside, and all kinds of difficult to access environments," says Ramey.
Ramey adds that accessibility is critical when responding to patients.
"There's legislation around accessibility and not all buildings are required to go backwards in time and update depending on when they were built. [However,] if there are opportunities within organizations' budgets to make accessibility a priority, then by all means it certainly makes a huge difference in the access of patients," says Ramey.
BlackburnNews.com has reached out to the mall's General Manager Lynn O’Brien, but she was not immediately available for comment on this story.
O'Brien previously told BlackburnNews.com that the mall has installed a temporary entrance at the top of parking garage, but declined to comment any further on accessibility concerns.
The Downtown Chatham Centre was recently criticized for its lack of accessibility by a local mother who says she couldn't access the second floor with her baby's stroller without going through the parking garage.