800 High School Students in Moncton and Riverview Communities to Receive Lifesaving Training Each Year!

MONCTON, NB – June 3, 2013 – Today, the Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation and its supporting partners are pleased to announce the official launch of the ACT High School CPR and Defibrillator Training Program in the following Moncton and Riverview area high schools: École l’Odyssée, Harrison Trimble High School, Moncton High School, Riverview High School.

This important initiative will be highlighted with a media event that will take place today, June 3, at 10:30 a.m. at Moncton High School (207 Church Street, Moncton, NB, E1C 5A3).

Each year, more than 800 students from four high schools in the Anglophone East School District and District scolaire francophone Sud will be empowered to save lives through the ACT High School CPR and Defibrillator Training Program.

The ACT Foundation is the national charitable organization that is establishing CPR and defibrillator training programs in high schools throughout Canada. The program is built on ACT’s award-winning community-based model of partnerships and support. ACT raises funds for training mannequins and defibrillator training units for all high schools and guides schools in program set-up.

Through their Internal Medicine Educational Fund, Moncton Hospital has generously donated 16 Automated External Defibrillator (AED) training units and 120 training mannequins. As the catalyst for bringing the program to the Moncton and Riverview area, Dr. Mary Catherine MacSween says, “My colleagues and I in the Department of Internal Medicine see every day the toll that cardiac disease takes on our patients. We have also seen the tremendous benefit of bystander response in cardiac emergencies. New Brunswick has an excellent supply of automatic defibrillators in public places. It only makes sense that simple, effective, lifesaving interventions of CPR and – where available – the use of an AED become an essential part of a high school education.”

Teacher training is provided to schools by the New Brunswick Emergency Medical Services (NB EMS). “Knowing how to perform CPR during those first few minutes until paramedics arrive at the scene can make all the difference. We are so pleased to partner with the ACT Foundation to train the trainers – to teach those teachers who will go on to instruct our students on how to save a life,” says Edgar Goulette, Director of Support Services, Quality and Training for NB EMS.

The ACT Foundation’s national health partners – AstraZeneca Canada, Pfizer Canada and Sanofi – are committed to bringing the program to high schools in New Brunswick and across Canada.

“We are thrilled with the support of ACT’s partners. Without them, this lifesaving program would not be possible,” says ACT Foundation Executive Director Sandra Clarke.

Four in five out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur at home or in public places. Early CPR, combined with the use of an AED within the first few minutes, can improve survival rates for cardiac arrest victims by up to 75 per cent, according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

To date, the ACT Foundation has set up the High School CPR Program in more than 1,600 schools nation-wide, empowering more than 1.8 million youth to save lives.

About the ACT Foundation

The ACT Foundation is the national charitable organization that is establishing CPR and defibrillator training programs in Canadian high schools. To date, the ACT Foundation has set up the ACT High School CPR Program in more than 1,600 schools nation-wide, empowering more than 1.8 million youth to save lives. The program is built on ACT’s award-winning community-based model of partnerships and support. ACT’s health partners who are committed to bringing the program to high schools across Canada include AstraZeneca Canada, Pfizer Canada, and Sanofi.