Chase McEachern was a boy from

Barrie, Ontario Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is political ...

, Canada, who campaigned to have it mandatory that heart defibrillators be made available at schools and hockey arenas.

Death

On Feb. 9th, 2006, McEachern collapsed at school of cardiac arrest due to an

atrial flutter Atrial flutter (AFL) is a common abnormal heart rhythm that starts in the atrial chambers of the heart. When it first occurs, it is usually associated with a fast heart rate and is classified as a type of supraventricular tachycardia. Atrial ...

, before his vision could be implemented, and on February 15, 2006, during Heart Month, he died surrounded by his family in a London, Ontario hospital. After his death, the

Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is a Canadian charity dedicated to advocacy, education, and the funding of research surrounding heart disease and stroke. Nomenclature In November 2016, the organization re-branded as ''Heart & Strok ...

, working with Chase's parents, created the Chase McEachern Tribute Fund. As a result, there are now

automated external defibrillator An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation (VF) and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and is able to treat them thr ...

s in schools and other locations throughout Canada. Shortly before his death, Chase wrote to sports legend Don Cherry asking for help in highlighting the need for this lifesaving equipment. Soon after his death Don Cherry dedicated time to Chase's plight on

Coach's Corner ''Coach's Corner'' is a commentary and analysis segment that aired from 1982 to 2019 during the first intermission of the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (HNIC) television broadcast of National Hockey League (NHL) games. It featured Don Cherry, and ...

The Chase McEachern Act

In 2006, the

Ontario government The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the p ...

introduced the Chase McEachern Act (Heart Defibrillator Civil Liability Act, 2006). This Act protects people from liability if they assisted someone, using a defibrillator, at an emergency (under certain conditions) or (again under certain conditions) if they made defibrillators available in good faith.

Rocco Rossi Rocco Rossi (born February 6, 1962) is a Canadian businessman currently serving as president and chief executive officer of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce, and was formerly the president and CEO of Prostate Cancer Canada. Background Rossi att ...

of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario said of this measure, "Today's action is a fitting tribute to Chase's vision, which will aid in our campaign with the family to introduce 1,000 defibrillators across the province and serve as a catalyst to make these devices as common as fire extinguishers, giving Ontarians the best possible chance of surviving cardiac arrest." The legislation has been passed.

Legacy

Through the Chase McEachern Tribute Fund, Chase's vision has resulted in defibrillators being made available in Ontario government buildings. A hockey tournament has been named after him. Chase' father, John McEachern, has received a medal for the defibrillator campaign, although he says it should really be his son Chase who should get the medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mceachern, Chase Greater Toronto Hockey League players Canadian philanthropists 2006 deaths 1994 births