MANILA–The Department of Health (DOH), along with the Philippine Heart Association, will hold a mass cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training on Monday, July 16, in San Mateo, Rizal as a preparedness and live-saving measure.
A similar activity will also be done simultaneously in the various regional offices of DOH to underscore the need to make everyone become familiar on how to properly perform CPR to save lives.
“It is aligned with our aim to empower members of the community to save themselves and their family members,” DOH Health Emergency Management Bureau (HEMB) director Dr. Gloria Balboaan told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday.
Balboa said Mayor Cristina Diaz of San Mateo, Rizal volunteered at least 3,000 participants for the activity.
With the huge number of participants expected to join the activity, Balboa said they hope that at least one family member will know how to perform CPR.
“There is a study that CPR can increase survival rate of patients suffering from cardiac arrest by 50 percent,” she added.
Since DOH cannot do it alone, she said the support and cooperation of local government units to promote CPR training is also vital.
“If only one agency is doing it, it’s hard. But if we work together, it will be easier,” she said.
Under Republic Act 10871 or the Basic Life Support Training in Schools Act, she said students are required to undergo age-appropriate basic life-saving training to make them aware and knowledgable in performing CPR when the need arises. (Leilani Junio/PNA)
