September is known as the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) month in Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain, and Portugal. During this month, several activities are hosted in different parts of the world to raise awareness of the importance of CPR and being knowledgeable of basic first aid.
Manager of Belize Emergency Response Team (BERT), Andre Carillo, told The San Pedro Sun that they are working on hosting a CPR training session on the island, as a way to give back to the community. “According to global statics, the majority of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest end up dying, due to not having people trained in CPR that can facilitate the life-saving procedure and avoid the death of that citizen,” said Carillo. “Throughout this month, we want to train as many people as we can in the various parts of the communities.”
Carillo states that each class takes approximately 25 minutes, so within a 2-3 hour period, we can train over 100 persons in CPR and basic first aid. “We want to train students, domestics, residents working in the tourism industry; as many people as possible in different areas in the community. So, wherever an accident occurs, they will be someone around to perform CPR and save a life.”
According to the American Heart Association (AHA), CPR from someone on the scene can double or even triple the chance of survival of someone in a cardiac arrest. “In one year alone, 475,000 people die from a cardiac arrest. Globally, cardiac arrest claims more lives than colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, influenza, pneumonia, auto accidents, HIV, firearms, and house fires combined,” states the AHA.
CPR is an emergency lifesaving procedure performed when the heart stops beating. It keeps the blood flow active, extending the opportunity for successful resuscitation. The CPR and basic first aid training in San Pedro Town are expected to take place at the end of the month. For more information and to sign up, you can contact Andre Carillo at 670-6827.
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