BURLINGTON, ON--(Marketwired - April 21, 2017) - The Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation and partners are launching ACT's High School CPR and Defibrillator Training Program in 28 high schools in the Halton Region. This initiative will see more than 7,000 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 and defibrillator training units 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 Halton Region high schools.

"Each year, approximately 7,000 Ontarians will experience cardiac arrest either at home or in public. When used in conjunction with CPR in the first few minutes after a cardiac arrest, defibrillation can dramatically improve cardiac arrest survival rates by more than 50 per cent. Providing youth with the tools and confidence to intervene in a life-saving scenario is an important investment that will benefit us all. I am proud of the ACT Foundation and our government for their commitment to improving the cardiac safety of communities across the province," says Eleanor McMahon, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport and MPP for Burlington.

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: Bayer, Halton Hills Hydro Inc., Kiwanis Club of Oakville Inc., Oakville Lions Club, Rotary Club of Acton, Rotary Club of Burlington Central, Rotary Club of Burlington Lakeshore, Rotary Club of Burlington North, Rotary Club of Oakville Trafalgar, 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," says Ed 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 Halton 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 Halton Region:

• 28 high schools to implement the program
• 7,000 students to be trained in CPR and how to use a defibrillator each year by teachers
• More than 700 CPR mannequins to be donated to schools
• More than 85 defibrillator training units to be donated to schools

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.

"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 28 Halton 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 national health partners, AstraZeneca Canada, Sanofi Canada, and Amgen Canada.

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