Grade 10 students in four Ottawa schools will be trained to use defibrillators to try to save the lives of heart-attack victims, under a pilot program launched Monday.

Sandra Clarke of the ACT Foundation said the program's goal is ensure there is an army of young people in Ottawa who know both CPR and how to use a defibrillator.
(CBC)

On Monday morning, Ottawa Paramedic Service staff trained 19 teachers from four schools to provide lessons on defibrillator use to Grade 10 students.

The program launched on the same day that Ontario announced it is installing two defibrillators in an Ottawa provincial government building on Rideau Street.

It's part of a program that will ultimately see 250 of the devices installed in close to 100 provincial buildings in Hamilton, North Bay, Smiths Falls, Sudbury and other cities across the province. So far, 99 have been installed.

'I think it gives us more power in emergency situations.'—Meaghan Ramsden, Grade 10 student

Sandra Clarke, the executive director of the ACT (Advanced Coronary Treatment) Foundation, the non-profit group that initiated the program in Ottawa, said it follows up on a successful program that taught students CPR in Grade 9.

"The research shows that you need in a cardiac arrest situation, a person needs CPR and they also need defibrillation," Clarke said.

"Our goal through this defibrillation program is to ensure that there is an army out there of young people who know both CPR and how to use a defibrillator."

The defibrillators offer step-by-step voice instructions. One will be provided to each school participating in the pilot project.
(CBC)

Dr. Justin Mahoney, an emergency physician and medical director for the ACT Foundation, said he hopes the program will expand so that in 10 years, every high school student will know both CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

Meaghan Ramsden, a Grade 10 student at the Immaculata High School, said she thinks she would have the confidence to use a defibrillator in an emergency situation after receiving some training on the devices on Monday morning.

"I think the idea is fantastic," she said. "I think it gives us more power in emergency situations."

Each school will receive a defibrillator that provides step-by-step voice instructions and a training kit from the foundation.

An earlier ACT foundation pilot project that taught students CPR was launched in Ottawa in 1994. According to the foundation, 1,000 schools across the country, including all high schools in Ottawa, now teach their students the skill.