By R. G. Antonet Go/PNA
ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Philippine Heart Association (PHA) on Friday launched the “CPR on Wheels and Wings (CWW) Caravan” here.
The caravan aims to equip individuals like policemen, barangay officials and staff, and tourism workers knowledge on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
The trainees of the CWW Caravan held at the Western Mindanao State University (WMSU) included health workers, students, and village watchmen, aside from policemen and barangay officials.
“Since these people are always out on the streets, they are the first witnesses or respondents to health emegencies, like sudden cardiac arrest (SDA) or drowning cases,” Dr. Francis Lavapie, chairperson of the PHA council on CPR.
Lavapie said the activity is part of the yearly simultaneous Nationwide Mass CPR Training pioneered by the PHA and adopted by the Department of Health (DOH).
Dr. Kristine Hashim Bantala-Supnet, president of the PHA 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) chapter, said PHA aims to make at least one family member CPR-savvy towards a CPR-Ready community and a CPR-Ready Philippines by 2021, and to place the country on the international CPR-Ready countries map.
On the other hand, the goal of the DOH is to make 20 million of the 106 million Filipinos CPR-Ready by 2021.
“We all share the goal in making Zamboanga CPR-equipped and in playing a key role in putting the CPR-ReadyPh.21 Campaign a notch higher,” Supnet said.
“We are keen on bringing CPR to every Filipino home by making at least one family member in every household CPR-savvy,” she added.
“Training and tapping people from various sectors will inspire and motivate every man on the street that he or she can be a rescuer and not a mere bystander or onlooker,” Lavapie further added.
To date, the PHA CWW has been to 23 sites and has trained at least 110,000 lay people.
