The Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and The InTime Project for the computerization and upgrading of Primary Schools are offering Emergency First Response training for teachers during the summer vacation.
In collaboration with Emergency First Response Corporation, one of the world’s most successful CPR, Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and First Aid Training Companies, the Embassy of the Government of Taiwan and the InTime Project, will provide training to 180 primary school teachers to qualify them as lay rescuers in the event of an emergency. The InTime programme provides computers, televisions, and with the help of LIME, free Internet connectivity and free cable connectivity to every primary school nation wide. InTime also provides free textbooks, computer content, evaluation and learning management to every primary school child.
As part of the Community Outreach aspect of the InTime program, InTime and LIME also provide 24/7 Public Service Educational Television, IETV, on Channel 32 (LIME) to all homes with that service—yet another example of how InTime works with its partners to provide education for all.
IETV content will also be made available to NTN for airing at no cost to the national network; this represents a 50 percent increase in NTN’s programming and will allow the whole country to enjoy regular educational television nationwide for the first time.
As part of the InTime programme, primary school teachers take part in twice-weekly training at workshops that are also provided free of charge. The Emergency First Response Courses that will be held this summer are part of the specialized teacher training that InTime offers in connection with the HealthTime component of the programme.
The CPR courses are also an essential part of the initiative by the Embassy of the Republic of China, Taiwan, towards disaster relief after Hurricane Tomas, and disaster preparedness in the face of future challenges. As Ambassador Chou points out, “Teachers prepared and trained to act in the face of emergencies may not only save the lives of their pupils, but also save the lives of their fellow citizens, families, friends and neighbours in hurricane shelters island wide. We never know when we will be called upon to save a life.”
Emergency First Response courses encompass adult, child and infant CPR, AED use, and first aid training. The courses are specifically designed to meet regional, local and national compliance standards for workplace safety, and follow current emergency patient care standards as published in the American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care, and the Basic Life Support group of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation.
The Emergency First Response Care for Children course teaches participants how to provide emergency care for injured or ill children (ages one to twelve) and infants less than one year old. Participants learn about the types of medical emergencies that children face, and how they differ from adult conditions.
The curriculum also includes the importance of attending to basic emergency situations with children, the emotional aspects of caring for children, secondary care for children, and preventing common injuries and illnesses in children.
The course includes both primary care (CPR) and secondary care (First Aid) skills. The primary care portion of the course prepares the rescuer to render aid to an infant or child with a life-threatening emergency such as choking or cardiac arrest. Secondary care focuses on developing secondary patient care skills and building the rescuer’s confidence to render first aid to an infant or child in need when emergency medical services are either delayed or unavailable.
Primary Care Course Content includes: Scene Safety Assessment, Universal Precautions, Communicable Disease Protection & Barrier Use, Primary Assessment, Obstructed Airway Management (child and infant), Rescue Breathing (child and infant), Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (child and infant), Automated External Defibrillator (AED) use, Serious Bleeding, Shock Management and Spinal Injury Management.
Secondary Care Course Content includes: Injury Assessment, Bandaging, and Illness Assessment.
Accidents happen. Fortunately, most incidents result in simple scrapes and bruises. Minor injuries and illnesses are part of growing up. However, traffic accidents, natural disasters, serious falls, choking, serious bleeding, near drowning, poisoning and allergic reactions can be frightening and devastating for all involved.
By becoming Emergency Responders, these 180 teachers will be empowered to make a difference. They will not be able to guarantee the final outcome, but they will know that they did all that could be done.
Upon successfully completing this course teachers will receive a certification card that is valid for two years. The course will be conducted by Julie Lamber an Emergency First Response Instructor and former UK Operating Theatre Nurse. Julie has previously conducted similar courses, funded by the Rotary Club of Gros Islet and with the approval of the Ministry of Health, for teachers in the north of the island. Julie has lived and worked in St Lucia for many years and conducts similar courses on a regular basis for the staff of hotels, various business houses and institutions throughout the nation.
The course is scheduled over two days, from 9 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon. Teachers must attend both days to complete the course. In order to guarantee quality and individual instruction, regulations stipulate a maximum of twelve students per course.
Participants are advised to bring along a beach towel or yoga mat for practical scenarios and sessions. They are also expected to wear comfortable loose clothing, preferably trousers or pants, for crawling around in. Ladies especially are requested not to wear lipstick as this stains the manikins.
The workshops will be held in Rodney Bay in the Conference Facility at Harmony Suites. Lunch will be provided, but this does not prevent those who need to from bringing their own snacks and refreshments for the occasional nibble during the day.
Originally, the training was scheduled as part of the regular InTime program of teacher-training workshops that take place every Wednesday and Friday at the National ICT Centre on the square in Castries, just next to the library. However, some within the Ministry of Education felt that such workshops did not constitute a legitimate part of the Intime Programme, so the leadership of the project had to rethink its policy on the Health and Disaster Preparedness workshops that were part of the HealthTime component.
InTime decided to offer courses outside schools hours during the long vacation. An optimistic maximum of 10 courses was planned; after all, how many would be willing to sacrifice vacation days to attend workshops? However, due to the unprecedented demand, the InTime Project has been compelled to arrange an additional 5 courses to provide places for the 180 teachers, representing just about one in every five primary school teachers, that wish to take part.
In fact, there is even a waiting list for places, even though the InTime Emergency First Response Training Programme will be holding workshops every single non-national-holiday day, Monday to Friday, and two Saturdays, during the whole of the long vacation, so great is the enthusiasm shown by teachers who wish to be better prepared to care for their pupils.
The Embassy of Taiwan, recognizing the value of such Emergency Training, agreed to support the project. The knowledge and skills the teachers will gain may one day save the life of a child, a friend, a relative, a neighbour, or even a perfect stranger.
The total cost of the workshops, including materials, instruction, certification, rent of locality and lunches, is approximately $50,000 and will be covered by the Intime Project and the Embassy of the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). This sum, though considerable, is a drop in the ocean compared to the reported 2.2 million allocated to workshops for the European Union Computerization Project for Primary Schools. Significantly, almost 100 percent of the InTime Project funds will be spent locally without the unnecessary cost of importing foreign expertise.
Almost one in every five primary school teachers will take part in the InTime Emergency First Response Training Programme, which demonstrates just one of the many advantages and improvements that the project, with the help of the Government of Taiwan, is implementing in the primary schools in both urban and rural St Lucia.
As one teacher emailed the InTime project after he completed the course:
“Please allow me to commend you on organizing these workshops. I just completed it and it was the best workshop I have ever attended. I feel I am now empowered, and can go out there and save the world.”
