AEDs coming to Haida Gwaii School District secondary schools- Students to learn lifesaving skills

Port Clements, BC, 10:30 a.m. – Today, teachers from George M. Dawson and Queen Charlotte Secondary Schools will be trained as instructors to empower all students with CPR and defibrillator lifesaving skills. This training will be held at Port Clements Multiplex Building.

The Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation is the charitable organization that is establishing free CPR and defibrillator training programs in high schools throughout BC and across Canada. ACT is working in partnership with British Columbia Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) paramedics and staff, RBC, AstraZeneca Canada, Pfizer Canada and Sanofi Canada to bring this program to School District No.50 Haida Gwaii secondary schools.

Thanks to the support of our partners, the two secondary schools are each receiving Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), AED training units, AED training mannequins, curriculum materials and program set-up. Today’s teacher training is being provided by Queen Charlotte Ambulance Station Unit Chief Faye Beaulieu, who is volunteering her time to teach the workshop.

“At RBC, we believe the health and wellness of local communities is of vital importance,” said Jennifer Cabeldu, Manager Donations, Brand and Communications, BC Region, RBC. “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 # 50 Haida Gwaii”

“Each and every year the ACT Foundation’s CPR and AED program will enable approximately 44,000 students to gain the information, skills and confidence to save lives. These skills will assist them to help others throughout the rest of their lifetime. An investment worth our efforts,” said Dr. William Dick, Interim Vice President of Medical Programs, BCEHS.

The ACT Foundation is the national charitable organization that is establishing CPR and defibrillator training programs in Canadian high schools. To date, the ACT High School CPR Program has been established in 226 public standard secondary schools throughout British Columbia and approximately 281,000 students have already been empowered to save lives with CPR.

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. Moreover, early CPR, combined with early defibrillation can increase survival rates for cardiac arrest victims by up to 75%, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

“We are thrilled with the support from our partners,” said Sandra Clarke, the ACT Foundation’s Executive Director. “With it, we can enhance the CPR program in the Haida Gwaii School District secondary schools with the addition of the defibrillator 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 1,700 high schools nation-wide, empowering more than 2.9 million youth to save lives.
Program Numbers in School District No. 50 Haida Gwaii

Thanks to RBC, the two (2) public secondary schools in School District No. 50 Haida Gwaii are receiving in total:
• 2 Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)
• 3 AED training units;
• 3 AED training mannequins.
This initiative will result in:
• 4 teachers trained as CPR and AED instructors for their students; and
• 50 students will learn CPR and AED skills each year.

About the ACT Foundation

The ACT Foundation is the national charitable organization that is establishing the CPR and AED program The ACT Foundation is the national charitable organization that is establishing the 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 Jahibasic
Communications Coordinator
ACT Foundation
comms@actfoundation.ca
Tel: 613-729-3455
Toll: 800-465-9111
www.actfoundation.ca
www.youtube.com/theactfoundation