Hospital da Luz Póvoa de Varzim and Clínica de Cerveira offered an automatic external defibrillator (AED) to the Basic and Secondary School of Vila Nova de Cerveira, as part of the project ‘For a safer school – Together we will save lives’. The equipment delivery ceremony was held on November 6th, in the school's auditorium, which was filled with dozens of teachers and was also attended by Artur Teixeira (director of the Cerveira school group) and Teresa Silva (coordinating teacher of the initiative on site), in addition to Sérgio Viana, Pedro Linhares and Monica Azevedo, respectively administrator, general director and director of marketing at Hospital da Luz Póvoa de Varzim. Since October 2023, within the scope of the same project, the nursing teams at Hospital da Luz (Póvoa and Cerveira) have carried out several information and training sessions on Basic Life Support for the 150 students at this school . Furthermore, Hospital da Luz Póvoa de Varzim and Clínica de Cerveira and Femédica, the company responsible for defibrillators, carried out mandatory training for certification in the use of AEDs, aimed at 6 school employees, who are now the operatives responsible for its handling. The project “For a safer school – together we will save lives” is part of Hospital da Luz’s social responsibility initiatives. The project began in 2022 in Póvoa de Varzim and Vila do Conde, where four schools are already equipped with AEDs, and was later extended to one school in Amarante, two in Guimarães and now also to the school in Vila Nova de Cerveira. Cardiorespiratory arrest is one of the main causes of death worldwide and BLS maneuvers and the use of AEDs substantially increase the probability of survival of victims, when started in the first minutes after cardiac arrest. According to data from INEM, the vast majority of educational establishments in Portugal do not have DAEs. AED training and devices represent a decisive value for schools: from now on, they will be equipped to face cardiorespiratory arrest situations, with the appropriate equipment and people with technical knowledge. Hospital da Luz Póvoa de Varzim and Clínica de Cerveira regularly promote health education initiatives within the community, which you can follow on our social networks or website.
