Caracas, December 16, 2024.- As part of an institutional partnership between the National Academy of Medicine, chaired by Dr. Huniádes Urbina, and the Venemergencia Foundation, led by Dr. Andrés Simón González-Silén, an automated external defibrillator was installed at the Palacio de las Academias, located on Avenida Universidad at the corner of La Bolsa and San Francisco, in the Catedral Parish, Caracas.
Both institutions have decided to join forces to ensure the cardiovascular health of staff and visitors who spend time at the Palacio de las Academias, as well as to train their members in first aid. Through the Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) program, anyone—even without professional training—can successfully act as a first responder in their community in situations like this, which increases the likelihood of timely and effective medical emergency response by thousands of times. “Installing this defibrillator at the Palacio de Las Academias is very significant; it is a major achievement of this administration, a historic milestone, and a life-saving measure,” stated Dr. Urbina.
Furthermore, as part of the partnership, training courses for the professional practice of paramedics will be endorsed by the National Academy of Medicine, which guarantees the standard of quality and excellence in the service provided by these important healthcare professionals in our country.
For his part, Andrés Simón González-Silén, Executive President of Venemergencia, reiterated the Venemergencia Foundation’s commitment “to promote the installation of more defibrillators in Caracas and throughout the country, with the aim of giving citizens the assurance of being in cardioprotected zones. This is our way of making an impact in the public sphere from the private sector. We want to promote and support the law on cardio-protected zones, an initiative by Dr. Roberto López, representative of the Venezuelan Society of Cardiology at the La Trinidad Teaching Medical Center,” said González-Silén.
As a nonprofit organization working on the creation and implementation of community development programs to promote access to healthcare through education, the Venemergencia Foundation is celebrating its 13th anniversary with the launch of this program. “Thanks to this partnership, we are equipping Caracas with Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and training residents in basic life support.
This equipment is only useful to the extent that people commit to receiving training as first responders, to working as a team, and to saving lives using the proper protocol. Being here today at the Palacio de Las Academias is, without a doubt, a milestone for the foundation,” noted Andrea Galarraga, Director of Sustainability at Venemergencia.
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Cardiac arrest is the main complication of these diseases, which leads to death without immediate treatment involving cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation. The chances of survival decrease by 10% for every minute that care is delayed.
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