St Matthew’s donates to Cayman Heart Fund
(CNS Local Life): St Matthew’s University recently donated to the Cayman Heart Fund (CHF) a portion of the funds collected through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and basic life support (BLS) classes the university offers throughout the year. Qualified students taking the classes receive a certificate authorised by the American Heart Association.
“We try to make our classes as interactive and engaging as possible,” said clinical skills lab coordinator and BLS instructor, Lloyd Griffin, in a CHF press release. “We want our students to leave the classroom having learned new skills as well as knowledge, not just a certificate. We are always pleased to hear our students tell us that if they find themselves in that situation, they won’t hesitate to help.”
St Matthew’s dean and professor of pathology, Dr Amitabha Basu, said the university was “proud to be associated with the CHF in delivering essential lifesaving skills to the people of the Cayman Islands. We have been providing BLS training to local medical, paramedical staff members, students, and non-medical personnel since July 10, 2010,” he said.
“There is an urgent need to make CPR training a must in schools and colleges and especially at the community level so that family members of those people, who fall under high risk zone for developing heart ailments, can give immediate medical assistance in times of emergency. Knowing how to give CPR properly can be a great asset and can save the life of a person when his or her heart stops beating,” Dr Basu added.
David Dinner, CHF board chair, said he appreciated the university’s instructors for their ongoing support and commended them on their commitment to saving lives in the Cayman Islands.
“We enjoy the rewarding work we do in conjunction with CHF to help educate the public about cardiovascular disease and dealing with emergency situations,” Griffin said. “The scary thing about cardiac arrest is that it can happen at any time and giving people the ability to help someone while emergency care is on the way can make all the difference.”
Cayman Heart Fund board member Barrie Quappe said she loves teaching CPR/First Aid at the university. “They strive for excellence in their programme which is affiliated with the American Heart Association. We train lay persons, medical professionals and anyone who wants the peace of mind that they know what to do in an emergency. One of my students remarked: ‘This is really easy,’ and it is, but it can also be tiring and so the more people who can do CPR, the more they can take turns and not tire too easily, maintain good blood circulation to the brain at a crucial time.”
The Cayman Heart Fund (CHF) is a non-profit, non-government organisation dedicated to reducing heart and circulatory disease, known as cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is the number one health problem in the Cayman Islands. The fund is also dedicated to educating the public, influencing policy and supporting access to high quality healthcare through various programmes and initiatives.
For more information about the CPR and BLS classes at St Matthew’s, or about the Cayman Heart Fund, call 916-6324 or email info@caymanheartfund.com
Category: Community, Donations, Local News, Medical and Health
Where one can see financial statements of the Fund
….dedicated to reducing heart and circulatory disease, known as cardiovascular disease (CVD), which is the number one health problem in the Cayman Islands. The fund is also dedicated to educating the public, influencing policy and supporting access to high quality healthcare through various programmes and initiatives.
This all good. Could CHF please tell us what their achievements are?
* how exactly the public educated, since everyone knows about CVD? Male version of it. But hardly anyone including doctors know about female version. Even Health City doesn’t diagnose it. Relatively young women continue dropping dead misdiagnosed.
* details of the policies that were influenced by CHF with examples
* what exactly do they do(did) to support access to high quality healthcare. I am not sure what that means exactly.
* what are the various programmes and initiatives?
* on what basis the conclusion was made that CVD prevails over cancer
* how many people benefited from CHF and exactly how?