Fifty-nine (59) licensed cardiologists from Central Luzon facilitated a lifesaving skills practicum to Tarlac State University students and employees on Friday (February 20) morning at the TSU gymnasium.
The training dubbed “SAGIP CPR training: Life-Saving Skills through Module and Practicum” is a massive hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) program to equip participants with skills to respond to emergencies like sudden cardiac arrest.
SAGIP (Survey, Assess, Get Help, Initiate, and Place) CPR was launched last year by Bell-Kenz Inc., a pharmaceutical company, together with the Philippine Heart Association (PHA), with its goal to capacitate one million Filipinos enabling them to respond to cardiac emergencies.
This training is also in partnership with the Philippine Medical Association, Tarlac Medical Society, and Philippine College of Cardiology.
According to Dr. Harold Sunga, former President of PHA– Central Luzon Chapter, cardiac arrest remains the number one cause of death in the Philippines, and one out of five Filipinos dies from heart disease.
“Alagaan ang puso para alagaan ka rin nito,” PHA Central Luzon secretary Dr. Levi Daluz said in his speech.
“Aside from taking care of the heart, we realized that here in the Philippines, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority and PHA, heart disease is the number one killer, with over 370 people dying due to heart disease alone, and yet here in the Philippines, only 2 out of 10 know how to do CPR. There are many organizations around the country, like DOH, PHA, to train more Filipinos,” Erika Danielle Asuncion, program head for SAGIP CPR and partnership activation specialist at Bell-Kenz, said.
The session featured lectures on how to take care of the heart, hands-only CPR, a complete guide on AED (Automated External Defibrillator), and an open forum.
“This morning, the experts will teach you, our students, the basics of CPR, a lifesaving skill which one must know once faced with life-threatening situations. We hope that this morning, we adhere [this] individual skills and knowledge - our future workforce. We hope that this private-public partnership is the start of [a] long-time collaboration between our organizations”, Dr Rommel Hernandez, the university physician, said.
SAGIP CPR is currently running on its sixth month, and simultaneously being conducted to various private and public educational institutions and local government units.
