High School Students in Fredericton to Receive Lifesaving Training in CPR and How to Use a Defibrillator

FREDERICTON, NEW BRUNSWICK--(Marketwire - Oct. 24, 2011) - Today, the Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation is launching the ACT High School CPR and Defibrillator Training Program for Fredericton High School and Leo Hayes High School. The program is being launched with critical community funding support from the Fredericton Community Foundation.

Thanks to the Fredericton Community Foundation's generous Impact Grant of $15,000, the ACT Program will see more than 1,000 Grade 9 students from School District 18 empowered to save lives every year by their teachers. Fourteen (14) physical education teachers have been trained as CPR and defibrillator instructors for their students. One hundred twenty (120) mannequins and 16 defibrillator training units are being donated to schools.

The ACT 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 training mannequins, defibrillator training units and teacher training for all high schools and guides schools in program set-up.

The ACT Foundation is a national charitable organization dedicated to establishing CPR as a mandatory program in every Canadian high school. ACT's health partners are AstraZeneca Canada, Pfizer Canada and Sanofi, and they are committed to bringing the program to Fredericton and to all high schools across Canada.

Eight in 10 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur at home. 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.

To date, the ACT Foundation has set up the ACT High School CPR Program in more than 1,600 schools nation-wide, empowering more than1.8 million youth to save lives.