Red Cross Targets 1% Of Populace For Annual Training

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You & Your Family

Saturday, 16 May 2009 20:29

By D Francis

Gerald Pryce, Director General of Antigua Red Cross, is preparing to host an Instructors First Aid Training Program on May 25 and 26.  He said, “We are working to get at least one percent of the populace trained in first aid every year.  We feel that every work place and every home should have someone with the knowledge of first aid - it’s very important.”

The course is open to those who have completed the first aid course and are proficient its practice.  The goal is to teach attendees the methodology of teaching this skill set in an effective manner.  Pryce continued, “For the first time, we have full sponsorship for this instructors` training program through the International Federation of the Red Cross in Geneva.  We have infant, children and adult mannequins and the latest technology required to carry out the program.”

The two-day session, held at the National Office of Disaster Services, will cover First Aid, CPR and Automatic External Defibrillation. Participants are from the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, The AIDS Secretariat, the Red Cross, the EMS and physical education teachers. Participants will have to pass both a practical and theoretical exam before becoming Red Cross First Aid Instructors and they are expected to train more persons in the community in first aid techniques.

“I personally think people from all walks in life should seek first aid training, having the knowledge of what to do in a medical emergency can make the difference between life and death,” Pryce concluded.

In 2008, the Red Cross trained over 500 persons in first aid. 

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