Raise the Hammer

What: CPR/AED Training by Hamilton Emergency Services-EMS Date: Monday, February 1, 2010 Time: 6:30 to 8:30 pm Location: Melrose United Church, 86 Homewood Ave. at Locke, Hamilton

Ward 1 residents are invited to a FREE public training clinic for Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillators (AED's), to be presented by Hamilton Emergency Services - EMS with the generous support of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.

CPR can be a vital link in saving the life of a loved one in cardiac arrest and anyone can learn it. The first 65 families who register will receive a free CPR AnytimeTM Family & FriendsTM kit (one kit per family, valued at $35) to take home and share with their families. These kits have been donated by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario and will be limited to one per family. Participants will also receive a CPR participation card upon completing the training.

In addition to becoming familiar with CPR, participants will also learn how to use Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). These defibrillators are the ones that you will have seen in many public buildings as part of the Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) program and they may also be a life-saver if used on someone in cardiac arrest.

According to the Heart and Stroke Foundation, 40,000 people in Canada experience cardiac arrest each year, the majority of which occur either at home or in public places. For every minute that passes without help, a person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest drops by seven to 10%. Learning CPR is easy and inexpensive and it could mean saving the life of a friend or family member. When CPR is combined with the prompt use of an AED (Automated External Defibrillator), the chance for survival can go up to 50% or more.

“The Heart and Stroke Foundation urges all Canadians to learn CPR. The more people trained, the greater the chance of keeping those that have suffered cardiac arrest alive until an ambulance arrives,” says Sue Turner, Community Mission Specialist, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. “You don’t need to be a doctor to save a life.”

“We hope as many people as possible can come out for this free CPR training clinic,” says Brent Browett, Deputy Chief/Director – EMS “Statistics indicate, and I know from my own experience on the job, that CPR and AEDs can make the difference between life and death. The more people in our community who have these life-saving skills, the more lives may be saved.”

The training session is limited to 65 families. Please RSVP by JANUARY 28, 2010 to Nikola at nikola.wojewoda-patti@hamilton.ca or 905-546-4528 and please include your name, address, phone number and email address.