HAGERSVILLE, Ontario, Nov. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- November is CPR month and the Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation and lead community and provincial partner Hydro One are launching student and community training in CPR and defibrillation in Mississauga Credit First Nation. This initiative will see Grade 6, 7 and 8 students from Lloyd S. King Elementary School and community members empowered with essential lifesaving skills.
The ACT Foundation is the charitable organization that is establishing CPR and defibrillator training programs in high schools throughout Ontario and across Canada.
ACT is working in partnership with lead community and provincial partner Hydro One, and national health partners, AstraZeneca Canada, Sanofi Canada, and Amgen Canada, to bring this program to Mississauga Credit First Nation. This initiative will see students and community members trained in how to perform CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED).
“Whether at home, school or work, this curriculum will empower students with the skills and knowledge to save lives,” said Derek Chum, Vice President, Indigenous Relations, Hydro One. “Hydro One is proud to partner with the ACT Foundation to deliver this training that's helping to build safer communities across the province.”
“This initiative will teach Mississauga Credit First Nation young people and community members to act in an emergency, to start CPR, and to grab the AED on the wall in public places and use that too. They will learn life skills that save lives,” says Dr. Justin Maloney, Medical Director, ACT Foundation.
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 Hydro One,” says Sandra Clarke, the ACT Foundation’s Executive Director. “With their support, we are able to bring this lifesaving program to Mississauga Credit First Nation, ensuring youth and community members are trained. They will bring their lifesaving skills to current and future families, building stronger a community and saving lives.”
To date, the ACT Foundation has set up the CPR Program in more than 1,800 high schools nation-wide, empowering more than 4.6 million youth to save lives. See link many rescue stories.
About the ACT Foundation
The ACT Foundation is the national charitable organization establishing free CPR and AED programs 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 the Government of Ontario, Hydro One and our national health partners AstraZeneca Canada, Sanofi Canada, and Amgen Canada.
www.actfoundation.ca or on Twitter @actfoundation #ACT2Save
For further information, please contact:
Jennifer Edwards
Operations Manager
ACT Foundation
act@actfoundation.ca
Tel: 613-286-5260
Toll: 800-465-9111
www.actfoundation.ca
www.youtube.com/theactfoundation
www.facebook/theactfoundation
www.twitter.com/actfoundation
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/bcbed625-8027-44a6-ad2b-b16e21f7e410