17,000 students to receive CPR and defibrillator training

MISSISSAUGA, ON --(Marketwired - February 17, 2017) - The Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation and partners are celebrating Heart Month with the launch of ACT's High School CPR and Defibrillator Training Program in more than 60 high schools in the Peel Region. This initiative will see more than 17,000 students empowered by their teachers with essential lifesaving skills every year.

The ACT Foundation is the charitable organization that is establishing CPR and defibrillator training programs in high schools throughout Ontario and across Canada. Mannequins are donated to schools and high school teachers are trained as instructors to train all students prior to graduation.

ACT is working in partnership with health partners, AstraZeneca Canada, Sanofi Canada, and Amgen Canada, and provincial partners, the Government of Ontario and Hydro One, and many community partners to bring this program to the Peel Region high schools.

"I am so pleased that the ACT Foundation is launching its CPR and Defibrillator Training Program in high schools throughout the Peel region. This program will teach more than 17,000 students how to save a life. I commend the ACT Foundation and partners for launching this life-saving initiative," says Dipika Damerla, MPP, Mississauga East-Cooksville.

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: BASF Canada Inc., Bayer, Brampton Village Lions Club, EllisDon Corporation, Enersource Corporation, Flower City Kiwanis, Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Kiwanis Club of Mississauga South, Loblaws Companies Ltd., Mississauga Central Lions Club, Mississauga Cooksville Lions Club, Mississauga Erin Mills Lions Club, Optimist Club of Brampton, Rotary Club of Bolton, Rotary Club of Bramalea, Rotary Club of Brampton, Rotary Club of Mississauga, Rotary Club of Mississauga Credit Valley AM, Streetsville Lions Club, and Takeda Canada Inc.

"As a founding partner of the ACT Foundation, it's very exciting to see the launch of this program come to fruition," saysEd Dybka, President, AstraZeneca Canada. "At AstraZeneca, we're proud to contribute to our local communities and I'm inspired to stand beside the many other Peel organizations that have played a part in making this day possible. I also thank the Government of Ontario for their support and the ACT Foundation for their leadership and commitment to this life-saving cause."

Thanks to our partners in the Peel Region:

• More than 60 high schools to implement the program
• More than 17,000 students to be trained in CPR and how to use a defibrillator each year by teachers
• 1,740 mannequins to be donated to schools
• 232 defibrillator training units to be donated to schools

"Hydro One is proud to be a longstanding supporter of the ACT Foundation's important work in training high school students in CPR and defibrillation," says Daniel Levitan, Director, External Relations. "Safety is Hydro One's first priority and by investing in this program, we are making Ontario's public spaces safer places to live, work, and play."

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.

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 of our partners," says Sandra Clarke, the ACT Foundation's Executive Director. "Thanks to them, we are able to bring this lifesaving program to over 60 Peel Region high schools, ensuring all youth will be trained. Students will bring their lifesaving skills to current and future families, building stronger communities and saving lives. See link to many rescue stories."

To date, the ACT Foundation has set up the CPR Program in more than 1,750 high schools nation-wide, empowering more than 3.6 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. High 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 committed to bringing the program to Ontario are provincial partners, the Government of Ontario and Hydro One, and health partners, AstraZeneca Canada, Sanofi Canada, and Amgen Canada.

www.actfoundation.ca

www.youtube.com/theactfoundation

www.facebook/theactfoundation

www.twitter.com/actfoundation

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/2/17/11G130632/Images/wide7-9025e15e4a49b3ccb63d8063b3e761e3.jpg