CPR trained teachers from Sherbrooke, Richmond and Cowansville will empower their students to save lives with defibrillators!
March 11, 2013
Sherbrooke, March 11, 2013 – Today, twelve (12) teachers from the Eastern Townships School Board will be trained to empower their students with Automated External Defibrillator (AED) skills as an enhancement to the ACT High School CPR program. This training, to be held at the Alexander Galt Regional High School, will result in 480 students trained annually by their teachers to use these lifesaving skills.
Teachers from the following schools will participate in this important Teacher training workshop: Alexander Galt Regional High School, Richmond Regional High School and Massey-Vanier High School.
“We appreciate being part of the ACT High School CPR and AED Program. Having qualified trainers in our high schools will make it easier for our students to learn these important life saving skills for free”, expressed Peter Hamilton, Director of Complementary Services for the Eastern Townships School Board. 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.
In June 2011, the ACT Foundation received a $ 363,000 contribution by the Boston Pizza Foundation helping ACT to enhance the CPR program with the AED program in 70 high schools in Quebec.
To date, the ACT Foundation has set up the CPR Program in 351 High Schools in Quebec and more than 250,000 students have already been empowered to save lives. ACT’s goal is to bring the program to 400 High Schools in Quebec. ACTs partners making the program possible include the Government of Quebec, AstraZeneca Canada, Pfizer Canada and Sanofi. The Boston Pizza Foundation’s support has enabled ACT to enhance the CPR program in 70 high schools with the AED program.
“The Boston Pizza Foundation got involved with enthusiam in this program which trains thousands of young Quebecers to ensure they become well-informed, responsible citizens” explains Carl Pichette, spokesperson for the Boston Pizza Foundation. “It has been proven that using a defibrillator, in combination with CPR, in the first minutes of a cardiac arrest, will increase the survival rates, especially when people have been well-trained”, concludes Mr. Pichette.
“We are grateful for Boston Pizza Foundation’s support. Their generosity has enabled us to improve the CPR program by adding the AED component for the students and by offering each school a defibrillator” declares Carole Nadeau, Project Manager (Quebec) for the ACT Foundation.
A few numbers for the Eastern Townships School Board :
The partnership between the ACT Foundation and the Boston Pizza Foundation will allow the three schools from the Eastern Townships to receive:
• 3 Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)
• 10 AED training units
• 10 AED training mannequins
• 12 teachers trained as CPR and AED Instructors for their students
• 480 students will learn CPR and AED skills each year.
About the ACT Foundation
The ACT Foundation is a national charitable organization dedicated to establishing CPR and AED training as a mandatory program in every Canadian high school. ACT’s health partners are committed to the program in Quebec and across Canada and include AstraZeneca Canada, Pfizer Canada and Sanofi. The Foundation has already established the CPR program in more than 1,600 high schools across Canada and more than 1.8 million youth have been trained in CPR to date. ACT is now adding the AED program to the school CPR initiative.
About the Boston Pizza Foundation
The Boston Pizza Foundation raises funds for many charities across Canada, including Kids Help Phone, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. Since its inception in 1990, the Boston Pizza Foundation has raised more than $12.1 million through various fundraising initiatives, the money raised supports local, national, and global non-profit organizations, all of which directly improve the health and well-being of children and families.