STANSTEAD: Did you ever worry that if a loved one were in trouble that you wouldn`t be able to help them or that the ambulance would not arrive in time? Then Stanstead is the place to be on Saturday. The very first Salon Santé - Sécurité Regional will be held at the Pat Burns Arena (27 rue Pat Burns)on Saturday, May 25 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Admission is free to this special event highlighting safety and health services that are available within the region.

Information booths will be set up, giving you a chance to get to know health technicians and safety officials who provide services in the area, an excellent opportunity to ask those questions that you have always wanted to ask. There will be a drawing for door prizes (bike helmets, etc.) and inflatable games installed to occupy the kids.

The highlight of the event will be “Héros en 30” (‘Heroes in 30’), a new program designed to give everyone the opportunity to take a professional 30-minute training in CPR, removing obstructions and the use of AED life-saving machines (those little machines you see popping up in many businesses and recreational locations around Stanstead and surrounding area).

Everyone taking the course will receive a card. This course, with instructors from Agence de Santé Estrie, is open to young and not so young and contains important information that everyone should know and could use in case of emergency. Anyone taking advantage of this course will have their name put into a drawing for a mini ipad. Both adults and kids alike are eligible for this drawing.

“We have arranged it so that the courses will be available in both French and English, so that everyone can benefit from this valuable training (separate courses). The instructors are actually from Agence de Santé Estrie; our ambulance technicians and fire department members will be occupied doing other tasks during the day. The French video that has been going around was done by 2 volunteers from the Centre de Communication Santé Estrie. We have all hands on board for this in hopes of creating a successful event. We have set a goal for ourselves of training 300 people so we hope everyone will come out and benefit from this opportunity,” explained Jody Stone, President of Ambulance Stanstead Inc.

This event, the first of its kind in the region, is a joint venture by the Fondation des Maladies du Cœur du Québec, Ambulance Stanstead Inc., la Ville de Stanstead, Agence de la Santé et des services sociaux de l’Estrie and the CSSM (Centre de Santé et de services sociaux de Memphrémagog).

Stanstead Fire Chief Chris Goodsell noted that he had also been asked if the ‘Heroes in 30’ courses were to be given in both French and English: “All of our paramedics are bilingual, and some even mother-tongue English. If someone prefers to be taught in English, just say the word and we'll make it happen!”