20 survivors meet the crews who saved them at EMS Survivor Day
20 people who survived cardiac arrest or trauma in 2025 were honoured Friday, with the crews who saved them, at Essex-Windsor EMS Survivor Day. In 3 of the rescues, a bystander grabbed a public AED. Learn CPR. Know where the nearest AED is.
Topics: HealthPublic safety
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Twenty people who survived trauma or cardiac arrest outside hospital in 2025 were celebrated Friday, Oct. 16, at the 13th annual Essex-Windsor EMS Survivor Day.
The event, put on by Essex-Windsor EMS and the Southwest Ontario Regional Base Hospital Program, was held at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts. The County of Essex says paramedics provided life-saving resuscitation to 20 patients in 2025, and their stories were shared at the ceremony.
The people behind each save
Along with the 20 survivors, the County says the ceremony recognized 70 Essex-Windsor EMS paramedics, 53 firefighters, seven ambulance communications officers, seven police officers, six members of the public and two paramedic students.
Survivors who attended were given rolled and bottled printouts of the heart rhythms paramedics recorded during their emergencies. The people who helped save them received Essex-Windsor EMS "save" pins.
Paramedic Rick St. Pierre received a milestone pin for being part of 20 saves in his career.
Bystanders made the difference
In three of the rescues, a bystander used a publicly available automated external defibrillator, or AED.
How you can help
If someone collapses, call 911, start CPR and send someone for the nearest AED. Dispatchers can talk you through it over the phone. Learning CPR is one of the simplest ways to be ready to help a neighbour.
