1,000 students to receive lifesaving CPR and defibrillator training

Maple Ridge, BC 9:00 a.m. – Today, the Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation and partners will launch the ACT High School CPR and Defibrillator Training Program in the six public secondary schools of School District No. 42 Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows. More than 1,000 students from the communities of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows will be empowered by their teachers with essential lifesaving skills every year. The media event is being held at the Thomas Haney Secondary School, 23000 116 Ave, Maple Ridge, BC, V2X 0T8.

The ACT Foundation is the charitable organization that is establishing free CPR and defibrillator training programs in secondary schools throughout BC and across Canada. ACT is working in partnership with its provincial partner BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) paramedics and staff, lead community partner, RBC, and health partners AstraZeneca Canada, Pfizer Canada, and Sanofi Canada to bring this program to the secondary schools in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.

“It is well known that patient survival is greatly enhanced with CPR and the use of a defibrillator, so it is vital that bystanders know what to do in the event of an emergency,’ said Maple-Ridge-Mission MLA Marc Dalton. “We owe a great deal to the efforts of the ACT Foundation to provide students with the skills and knowledge to perform a life-saving response.”

Funding will see participating secondary schools receive training equipment to enable teachers to train students. This includes Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training units, AED training mannequins, and program set-up that will see all students graduate with the skills and knowledge to save lives.

“At RBC, we believe the health and wellness of local communities is of vital importance,” says Jennifer Cabeldu, Manager, Donations, Brand & Communications, BC Region, RBC, Royal Bank of Canada. “We are proud to be long-time supporters of the ACT Foundation and thrilled to be the community partner bringing CPR and AED training to School District No. 42 Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows secondary schools.”

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.

“Seeing the expansion of ACT to more schools across Canada is a source of great pride for Sanofi Canada, a founding partner in the program,” says Niven Al-Khoury, President and CEO of Sanofi Canada. “ACT’s CPR and AED program is unique to Canada and renders a critical service to our healthcare system and services.”
To date, the ACT High School CPR Program has been established in 228 public standard secondary schools throughout British Columbia and approximately 370,000 students have already been empowered to save lives with CPR.

“Our front-line paramedics and dispatchers know bystander CPR saves lives. That’s why we’re so invested in helping to prepare future generations on how to help someone suffering from a sudden cardiac arrest,” says BCEHS Vice-President Medical Programs, Dr. William Dick. “Every year, through the ACT Foundation’s CPR and AED program approximately 44,000 BC students gain the information, skills, and confidence to help save lives. These skills will assist them to help others throughout the rest of their lives.”

Early CPR combined with early defibrillation can increase the chance of survival for cardiac arrest victims by up to 75% according to Heart and Stroke Foundation.
“We are thrilled with the support from our partners,” says Sandra Clarke, the ACT Foundation’s Executive Director. “With it, we can enhance the CPR program in the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School District secondary schools with the addition of the defibrillator training component. These are lifesaving skills that students will be able to bring to their current and future families and communities.”

To date, the ACT Foundation has set up the ACT High School CPR Program in more than 1,740 high schools nation-wide, empowering more than 3.2 million youth to save lives.

About the ACT Foundation

The ACT Foundation is the national charitable organization that is establishing the free CPR and AED program in Canadian high schools. The program is built on ACT’s award-winning community-based model of partnerships and support, whereby ACT finds local partners who donate the mannequins and AED training units that schools need to set up the program. Secondary school teachers then teach CPR and how to use a defibrillator to their students as a regular part of the curriculum, reaching all youth prior to graduation. ACT’s partners who are committed to bringing the program to British Columbia are BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) and our national health partners, AstraZeneca Canada, Pfizer Canada, and Sanofi Canada.

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For further information, please contact:

Nives Scott
Communications Coordinator
ACT Foundation
comms@actfoundation.ca
Tel: 613-729-3455
Toll: 800-465-9111
www.actfoundation.ca
www.youtube.com/theactfoundation
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