KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) celebrates Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Week 2023 from August 21 to 25, under the theme ‘When Seconds Count, Count on CPR’.

Individuals are being invited to participate in several activities to be hosted by the HFJ, which aim to heighten public awareness about the life-saving technique.

On Wednesday, August 23, there will be an Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC) symposium, titled ‘Now We’ve Achieved Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC), What’s Next?’

The scheduled speakers are Managing Director, Accident and Emergency Medical Services Limited, Kenroy Cole; Consultant Emergency Physician, University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), Dr Romayne Edwards, and Senior Registrar in Anaesthesia, Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), Dr Renée Nesbeth.

They will be speaking on the topics ‘Pre-hospital Care of the Patient Who is in Cardiac Arrest’, ‘Emergency Room Management of the Patient in Cardiac Arrest’, and ‘Critical Care Management after ROSC’, respectively.

The symposium will be held virtually from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm via HFJ’s social media platforms.

Registration links may be found on the Foundation’s website.

Willis outlined the instructions for registration.

“The symposium poster has been uploaded to the website and it will lead persons to a clickable link for registration. The participant will then get an email with notification of registration. They will also be directed to a payment portal to complete the process,” she indicated.

Willis pointed out that while the symposium is geared towards medical professionals, it is also open to the public.

In this regard, there will be a CPR demonstration at Emancipation Park in New Kingston on Thursday, August 24.

“It is an opportunity for the general public to come and observe a CPR demonstration” Willis noted, adding that persons should feel free to attend and take along colleagues, friends, and family members.

“We’ll be doing a live demonstration of how to carry out CPR. What do you do if someone is in need of your help; if you’re on a bus, in a taxi, wherever you are and it seems as if someone has stopped breathing, how do you pump the chest; are you pumping too hard; is this adequate; what do you do and how long,” she explained.

Rounding out the week will be the Family and Friends CPR Course on Saturday, August 26 at the HFJ’s office, 28 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5. Persons will be taught how to do CPR at a cost of $2,000.

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

For additional information, individuals can visit the Heart Foundation’s office or call 876-926-4378 or 619-7007-8.

WhatsApp messages may also be sent to 876-334-4998 or email at info@heartfoundationja.org.

-JIS