by Deputy Chief Laurie Skolrood
On Saturday, February 20, Mass CPR training will take place at Clarence Fulton Secondary, with three starting times to choose from: 9 am, 10 am and 11 am. Pre-registration is not necessary.
Each training session includes one hour of lecture and one hour of hands-on training. Breakfast will be supplied by the Silver Star Rotary Club from 8 – 9 a.m. This two-hour class is a very small investment that could make a big difference in your life and possibly in that of someone you love.
In 2016, approximately 44,000 Canadians will die from heart attacks. Seventy per cent of these heart attacks will happen at home, and the average person could wait up to four hours before seeking help. These statistics need to change.
This need for change has been the motivation for Silver Star Rotary to make it possible for thousands of people to learn CPR through their mass CPR training program. From its beginning in 1989, the Mass CPR program has been making an undeniably significant contribution towards keeping our community safe. Partnered with Vernon Fire Rescue Services (VFRS), who now deliver the training, the program continues to be popular and well attended by people wanting to protect themselves against this notorious killer of Canadians.
Mass CPR training educates the general public in basic emergency CPR protocols that can be applied immediately in the case of heart attack. Statistics demonstrate that the earlier CPR is started on a patient, the higher the probability of success. When more people are capable of performing CPR, the chances of it being applied early when it is most needed increases substantially.
The First Medical Responder Program (FMR) program delivered by VFRS helps to supplement the effectiveness of a quick medical response and is designed to support a very busy B.C. Ambulance Service. The FMR program has been directly responsible for saving lives in this community with the early application of defibrillation and in most of those cases CPR was initially applied by a friend or relative. The significance of these two initiatives in our community can be easily equated to the number of people who are alive today and enjoying more time with their families as a result of a quick medical response supported by the early application of CPR.
Early medical response and CPR play a significant part in the process of saving lives and partnered together make the chances of a person surviving a heart attack a whole bunch better.
Make your New Year’s resolution a healthy one. Promise yourself that you will make healthier choices regarding your lifestyle and come join us on February 20 at Clarence Fulton Senior Secondary to learn emergency CPR. Someday, you might save the life of someone you love.