With 80 per cent of cardiac arrests ocurring at home, early CPR can increase survival rates
TORONTO, Dec. 4, 2020 /CNW/ - The Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation in partnership with Hydro One's support continues to provide students with the skills necessary to save a life. This year, the provincial collaboration is expected to bring these critical skills to more than 110,000 students and to more rural and First Nations schools. During the time of school closures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACT Foundation quickly transitioned to provide schools with access to course theory information online, including the warning signs of a heart attack and stroke and the importance of calling 911 early. The practical CPR hand-on skills training has now resumed for students back in school.
Through the program, high school students are trained in CPR and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) skills, which according to the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, when combined early in a life-threatening situation can double the chance of survival. Since 2000, Hydro One has supported the ACT Foundation to successfully train more than two million high school students in CPR.
"The value of lifesaving skills cannot be measured, which is why we ensure our employees are properly trained to respond to medical emergencies that could occur in the workplace, at home or in public," said Lyla Garzouzi, Chief Safety Officer, Hydro One. "By partnering with the ACT Foundation, we are equipping young people with the skills necessary to act fast and make a lasting difference. Education and training are essential in saving lives and building safe communities."
In Canada, an estimated 35,000 people suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year. With 80 per cent of cardiac arrests occurring in homes, empowering youth with CPR training as part of their high school education will help increase citizen CPR response rates and save lives.
"As a national health partner with the ACT Foundation, Amgen Canada is proud to help students learn life-saving skills for life-threatening emergencies, but more importantly, to become champions for health and science in their families and communities," says Brian Heath, Vice-President and General Manager at Amgen Canada. "We strongly believe in the power of young people to inspire wellness."
"We are thrilled with the commitment of ACT's partners," says ACT Foundation Executive Director Sandra Clarke. "Their support is helping the ACT Foundation enable thousands of students across the province to be emergency ready to respond to serious medical emergencies that can happen to their family members, friends, neighbors and others in their communities."
ACT's partners, committed to bringing the program to Ontario are the Government of Ontario and Hydro One and ACT's national health partners AstraZeneca Canada and Amgen Canada.
The ACT Foundation's mission is to promote health and empower citizens to save lives! ACT is doing so by establishing the CPR and AED Program in high schools across Canada. The Foundation's High School CPR and Defibrillator Training Program is built on ACT's award-winning community-based model of partnerships and support. ACT raises funds for CPR mannequins and AED training units for all high schools, trains teachers as CPR instructors for their students, and guides schools in program set up.
About the ACT Foundation
The ACT Foundation is the national charitable organization 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 the Government of Ontario and Hydro one and our national health partners AstraZeneca Canada and Amgen Canada.
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About Hydro One Inc.
Hydro One Limited (TSX: H)
Hydro One Limited, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution provider with approximately 1.4 million valued customers, approximately $27.1 billion in assets as at December 31, 2019, and annual revenues in 2019 of approximately $6.5 billion. Our team of approximately 8,800 skilled and dedicated employees proudly build and maintain a safe and reliable electricity system which is essential to supporting strong and successful communities. In 2019, Hydro One invested approximately $1.7 billion in its transmission and distribution networks and supported the economy through buying approximately $1.5 billion of goods and services. We are committed to the communities where we live and work through community investment, sustainability and diversity initiatives. We are designated as a Sustainable Electricity Company by the Canadian Electricity Association. Hydro One Limited's common shares are listed on the TSX and certain of Hydro One Inc.'s medium term notes are listed on the NYSE. Additional information can be accessed at www.hydroone.com; www.sedar.com or www.sec.gov.
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SOURCE Hydro One Inc.
