Several Activities for CPR Week

The Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) is celebrating Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Week 2022 from August 22 to 28, under the theme: ‘Let’s Push Start the Heart, Give CPR’.

Several activities will be hosted by the HFJ during the week, aimed at increasing public awareness and promoting community and bystander participation.

The HFJ’s Director of Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC), Dr. Hugh Wong, shared details of the main activities while speaking during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ at the Agency’s head office in Kingston, on Tuesday (August 23).

“On Wednesday, August 24, there will be an Emergency Cardiac Care Symposium entitled ‘Emergency Cardiac Care in Special Populations’,” Dr. Wong said.

He advised that the three featured speakers will address ECC within their areas of specialty.

Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr. Lenroy Bryan, will speak on ECC in Pregnancy; Consultant in Paediatric Cardiology, Dr. Tamra Tomlinson-Morris, will address ECC in Paediatrics, and Cardiologist, Internist and Sports Medicine Specialist, Dr. Tahira Redwood, will present on ECC in athletes.

Dr. Wong explained that while the symposium is geared towards medical and paramedical personnel, it is also open to the public.

It will be held virtually from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the HFJ’s social media platforms. Registration links may be found on the entity’s website. On Saturday, August 27, the Foundation will host a Family and Friends CPR Course at the HFJ’s offices, 28 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5, beginning 9:00 a.m.

The organisation’s in-house CPR team will deliver the course. Interested persons are encouraged to contact the Heart Foundation to register.

According to the ECC Director, “the course does not require the participants to pass an exam… it is strictly skills-based.

“It is pretty easy to learn, and I encourage everybody to come out and learn to do CPR. Why should we learn CPR? The simple answer is, the person whose life you save is likely to be someone who is very close to you, and this is because you spend more time with these persons,” Dr. Wong said.

He added that it is an important skill to have and highlighted that the course takes just three hours.

The HFJ is also undertaking numerous media activities throughout the week to sensitise members of the public on the importance of learning CPR.