Max Loew, an eight-year-old Tarentorus Public School Grade 2 student, knows how to spot signs of a stroke in older people and how to respond.
“I know the arm can't move (along with other symptoms). You would call 911,” Loew told SooToday.
Loew is one of 40 Tarentorus Public School Grades 2 and 3 students who participated in the internationally recognized Fast Heroes 911 program that instructs young children how to recognize signs of a stroke in a family member, such as a grandparent.
The Algoma District School Board (ADSB) and Sault Area Hospital (SAH) Stroke Program have partnered to teach children in Grades 1 to 3 how to be Fast Heroes and call 911 for quick medical help to assist a family member experiencing a stroke.
Tarentorus Public School is the first school in northeastern Ontario to offer the Fast Heroes 911 program that is taught with materials supplied by the World Stroke Organization.
There are 5,000 classes taking the program worldwide.
The program locally included one 45- to 60-minute lesson a week for five weeks led by Tarentorus teachers Corinna Briglio and Mara Cattaneo.
Fast Heroes 911 includes interactive e-books, student workbooks, and storytelling by retired superhero characters. Each superhero introduces children to a different stroke symptom emphasizing the importance of calling 911.
A celebration marking completion of the program was held at Tarentorus Public School’s gym Thursday and included students, teachers, parents, grandparents, ADSB and SAH officials as well as Sault EMS paramedics.
Students were treated to a close up look at a Sault EMS ambulance and its equipment.
“The word 'fast' in Fast Heroes 911 is an acronym. F is for a face that has gone droopy, A is for an arm that goes limp, S is for speech that has slurred and T is for time to get calling 911 as fast as a student can so a person can get treatment at the hospital,” said Tarentorus teacher Corinna Briglio.
“A parent in our school community brought the Fast Heroes program to our school. The Grade 2 and 3 teachers partnered up and were just so engaged in the lessons over the five weeks,” added Davey Taylor, Tarentorus Public School principal.
The students took in the material and learned it well.
“The teachers just couldn't believe how well the kids adapted to this topic. It's a serious topic, but they have it on a level so that the kids have some understanding and awareness so that they know the signs of a stroke in a loved one, like a grandparent, to really build that extra layer of safety. The whole team has just felt so good about all the stages of the program,” Taylor said.