By Staff
May 1, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
There is an organization called the Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation that partners with high schools to teach the fundamentals of CPR and AED.
What do the acronyms mean?
CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is a combination of breathing and chest compressions. Performing CPR increases a cardiac arrest casualty’s chances of survival by keeping the brain supplied with oxygen until the person receives advanced medical care.
AED stands for Automated External Defibrillator. An AED sends an electric shock through the chest to the heart to start the heard beating effectively again. Defibrillation given as soon as possible is the key to helping some people survive cardiac arrest.
Aldershot high school students being taught how to apply CPR and how to use an AED.
There are 28 high schools in Halton taking the training that will result in 7000 students empowered by their teachers with essential lifesaving skills every year. The media event for this program took place t Aldershot High School,
The high school mascot gets into the training.
The ACT Foundation is the charitable organization that is establishing CPR and defibrillator training programs in high schools throughout Ontario and across Canada. Mannequins and defibrillator training units are donated to schools and high school teachers are trained as instructors to train all students prior to graduation.
When used in conjunction with CPR in the first few minutes after a cardiac arrest, defibrillation can dramatically improve cardiac arrest survival rates by more than 50 per cent. Providing youth with the tools and confidence to intervene in a life-saving scenario is an important investment that will benefit everyone.
One student does CPR while a second students prepares the defibrillator.
This initiative will see high schools receive training equipment as a result of the Skills4Life Fundraising Campaign which has received the support of many community partners and service clubs. These include lead community partners, AstraZeneca Canada, Amgen Canada, and Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd. Community partners are: Bayer, Halton Hills Hydro Inc., Kiwanis Club of Oakville Inc., Oakville Lions Club, Rotary Club of Acton, Rotary Club of Burlington Central, Rotary Club of Burlington Lakeshore, Rotary Club of Burlington North, Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar, and Takeda Canada Inc.
More than 700 CPR mannequins are being donated to high schools along with 85 defibrillator training units.
With eight in 10 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occurring at home or in public places, empowering youth with CPR training as part of their high school education will help increase citizen CPR response rates over the long term.
