Anglican clergy enjoy the Life... Live it Save it! program
At a recent conference held in Coonabarabran, Chaplain Rev. Paul McFarlane conducted the “Life…Live it Save
it!” program with 50 Anglican ministers and youth workers from
northern NSW. The aim was to introduce the course to rural church
leaders so that
some of them might run the program in their own communities. Rev. McFarlane also wanted to encourage the clergy to keep their own life saving
skills up to date
especially given that many churches cater for older people who
are more likely to suffer from cardiac conditions, stroke, diabetes
and breathing
problems.
Of concern was that less than half of the clergy present had a current first aid certificate and very few were aware of the current CPR guidelines. One of the strengths of the “Life…Live it Save it!” program is that it has the potential to teach basic CPR skills to the community in a non threatening and fun way, whilst also raising awareness of the need to have further training in first aid, especially for community leaders like the clergy.
The course was very much appreciated by those present and there was a great deal of enthusiasm shown for running the course amongst the seniors in the various churches and rural communities represented. Thanks was extended to Ambulance for supplying enough CPR charts to be displayed in all Anglican church buildings and halls across the region and 500 Personal Health Diaries were distributed to be circulated amongst church members.
Two participants at the conference who were particularly impressed by the program and the work that Ambulance does in rural communities were Bishop Edward Muhima and Rev. Amos Katushabe who were visiting from Uganda. Unfortunately in their own country, there is very little access to health care, especially for medical emergencies. Consequently, the Bishop was eager to take away some first aid training resources that could help to equip their own clergy with basic life saving skills.
Photograph: Bishop Edward Mumima practicing on his “CPR buddy” pillowslip
> more information on the "Life... Live It Save It! program
> Personal
Health Care Diary [PDF]
Ambulance is committed to assisting the community create safer and healthier environments and outcomes by making prevention everyone’s businesses. A number of innovative community education programs have been implemented to assist identify life threatening conditions, understand what to do in an emergency and the importance of adopting illness prevention strategies.