Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in Canada, with more than 35,000 people dying of sudden cardiac arrest each year. The large majority of cardiac arrest deaths occur in homes and public places, and up to 55% are witnessed by a family member, co-worker or friend.
The 2022聽McGill聽World Restart a Heart聽(WRAH) Campaign seeks to encourage bystanders to take immediate action by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and using an automated external defibrillator (AED).聽By performing bystander CPR and using an AED in the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest, the chance of survival triples.
Implemented four years ago as part of a larger global initiative, the McGill student-led branch of this campaign is聽Canada鈥檚 largest sudden cardiac arrest awareness initiative聽and continues to grow and attain new heights.聽 This year鈥檚 campaign reached over a聽quarter of a million individuals聽during the month of October through an engaging series of virtual and in-person events and a compelling social media campaign.
Here are some of the highlights.
- 翱惫别谤听450 visitors聽learned about AEDs and safely practiced hands-on bystander CPR on simulated manikins at educational booths set up at the McGill downtown and Outaouais campuses as well as at Universit茅 de Sherbrooke.
- Close to聽6,000 McGill students聽were educated on the importance of bystander CPR and AED through in-class visits by WRAH volunteers to聽20 classroom聽and through informational materials distributed by professors to their students.
- Two virtual events聽featuring cardiac arrest survivors and healthcare professionals were viewed by over聽425 attendees聽and are available to watch聽here
- An engaging series of聽90 original posts, stories and videos聽were shared on the WRAH Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, resulting in over聽20,500 impressions.
- The McGill WRAH campaign was shared with members of the McGill community via publications and newsletters to reach over聽230,000 readers.
- An engaging聽Box for WRAH聽fundraising event brought together 15 participants and raised $400 to benefit the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada.
Congratulations to the WRAH team for organizing an outstanding initiative!
Dr. Farhan Bhanji, Vice-Dean, Education, FMHS and Chair of the WRAH Steering Committee, with Sophie Labelle, Resuscitation聽Program Manager, Quality Assurance and Engagement from the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada
CPR booth at the downtown McGill campus
Simulated feedback manikins allowed participants to see if they were performing chest compressions at the optimal speed and depth.
McGill WRAH volunteers at Campus Outaouais Left to right: Dr. Ugo Desjardins, Andr茅e-Ann B茅chard, Daniel Josu茅 Guerra and Jacob Nicodemo
Universit茅 de Sherbrooke CPR booth
Quebec Liberal Party MNAs Jennifer Maccarone and Gregory Kelley visited the WRAH booth and practiced CPR
WRAH presentations in the McGill classrooms
Box for WRAH fundraising event
