Pilot project to offer CPR training to Yukon students

A pilot project being launched later this month in Haines Junction, Yukon, will see students as young as 10years old trained to save the life of a cardiac arrest victim.

Students in grades fiveand up will learn how to use automated defibrillators and administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

"We're providing the training to these students to essentiallynot be afraid of providing treatment," said David Bryan,community director with the Paramedic Council of Yukon, one of the organizations behind the project.

"CPR is part of the vital link of survival in cardiac arrest management."

Bryan, who works as a paramedic in Haines Junction and Whitehorse,said it's crucial to get blood pumping again within three to five minutes of a cardiac arrest. Without CPR or a defibrillator, the victim's chances of survival are "very small," he said.

Yukon's education department is also a partner in the project, with funding from the ACT Foundation, a Toronto-based charity.The training will be offered at the St. Elias Community School later this month.

Bryan hopes that by next year, similar training will be offered to students atall Yukon schools.