Safer Quinte

-- Community Partners --
      
Bay of Quinte Safe Communities Be Certified
Red Cross
 
CLICK HERE to see CTV News clip
 
Bay of Quinte Safe Communities and the Canadian Red Cross (Quinte) are working together to make youth part of the workplace safety solution.
Young workers will be given the opportunity to become certified in First Aid/CPR or Emergency First Aid at no cost. Tax deductable donations are being sought and for every $100 collected, one young worker will be trained.

EMPLOYERS: Your support and donations are needed.
YOUNG WORKERS: Applications are being accepted to participate in this program.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: please call Lyn at Bay of Quinte Safe Communities at 613-967-4693

Here are some of the supporting points behind Certification for both employers and young people.

On the job injury reduction:
According to a literature review by the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research in 2006: "Nearly thirty years of study regarding the effect of First Aid training on injury rates in specific populations shows that there is evidence that First Aid training can change both attitudes and safety behaviours."

Off-the-job injury reduction
Overall, injuries on streets, playgrounds, arenas and in homes - everywhere - are 8 to 11 times greater in number than injuries at work across Canada. The impact of our interventions today, if as high as the 20% or more reductions some estimate may result, is compelling: reduced health care costs and hospital admissions, reduced pain, suffering and death and improved national productivity for time lost at work because of off the job injuries, which cost the country far more than on the job injury.

First Aid/CPR certified is warranted not only because of the strong potential for reducing the frequency of injuries but also because more people will survive them as a result of increased capacity for immediate response and treatment.

Save more lives, limit the damage, enhance recovery
The best way to demonstrate the proof of this outcome is to describe what is called the "save rate" and the impact that improving it has on people’s lives. A "save rate" example was provided by an Emergency Response leader at a recent community meeting in an Ontario community. 27% per cent of the time, when an emergency crew arrived on the scene, CPR was already being administered to the individual in distress. Because breathing is restored or a particular trauma is being dealt with more quickly, the chances of survival or of minimizing severe damage to critical organ functions are greatly improved. Thus, the more people trained in First Aid/CPR, the more people there are available to administer it. The "save rate" rises as more people are trained to engage.

The evidence is well-documented. For example, the "save rate" in communities like Seattle Washington, where CPR is administered over 60% of the time before emergency crews arrive, is exponentially higher than in communities where fewer people are able to intervene.

Skills, employability & stewardship of young Canadians
Health and Safety law and regulations in Canada require First Aid/CPR certified workers to be present in many workplace settings. If workers are formally certified prior to employment in a particular workplace with such needs, there is a potential cost saving to the employer for the training itself and time off the job needed to acquire it. Thus, First Aid/CPRE certification is a tangible benefit for employers considering a young worker’s job application.

Another current trend in secondary education adds more value. Educators are openly seeking opportunities to deliver "certifications" or proven competencies according to set standards that can be undertaken and achieved by students. First Aid/CPR certification is but one example of this and is particularly well-suited because of its long-recognized reputation as a valuable form of certifiable training.

Finally, it is widely believed that young people respond to and will take action on issues they believe can make a difference to the world they live in. The impact of young people as drivers of the movement toward recycling, for example, is well-documented. Thus First Aid/CPR certification on a mass scale will not only will save lives and reduce the impact of injuries on Canada, but also offers a unique challenge for young Canadians to show the rest of our citizens the way to a better and even more caring country.
 
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