Current Newsletter

The Mikey's Young At Heart School Defibrillator Program

As we all know our children are our future. We love them,we cherish them, and we will do everything in our power to make sure they grow up healthy and strong.

Yet, as much as we try to protect them, even the young can develop unexpected heart problems. Indeed,there are no age barriers to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), which can happen to anyone,at any time, in any location. Each year in Ontario, children and teens are among the more than 6,500 people who experience SCA. Fortunately, there's hope for a second chance at life for many of those who do.

In 2006, Dr. Joel Kirsh, the chief physician in Cardiology and Critical Care and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Sick Kids® Hospital, called Morty Henkle, Director of The Mikey Network to talk about a way to place defibrillators in schools across the GTA. Considering it an investment in Canada's future, we launched The Mikey's Young-At-Heart School Defibrillator Program.

The MIKEY's installed under this program will be available to hundreds of high school and continuing education students, their teachers and school staff. The life-saving potential is even greater when you consider that schools form the heart of our communities.

MIKEYS will also benefit all of the individuals and neighbourhood groups who regularly attend meetings, play sports, vote at their local polling stations, and participate in other special events held on school property. Through the Mikey's Young-At-Heart Program, we plan to work with EMS and local school boards to eventually place a MIKEY in every elementary, intermediate and secondary school in Ontario - and to ensure the beat goes on for future generations!

Mikey's Young at Heart

In Ontario, children and teens are among the 6,500 people who experience sudden cardiac arrest each year. In March 2007, The Mikey Network held a News Conference to announce the donation of 120 MIKEYS and the training to use them to Toronto District School Board to be installed in secondary schools, their outdoor education centre and their administrative site. Worth $400,000 in total, this is the largest donation of public access defibrillators ever made at one time in North America.

"I want to congratulate the leadership of The Mikey Network because I know that these MIKEYS will save lives. Cardiac arrest victims who have access to heart defibrillators increase their chances of survival significantly," said Ontario's Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson.

Hugh Heron, Principal and Partner in the Heron Group of Companies and President of Heathwood Homes, pointed out that, "This donation is a

bout the human heart, and also the emotional heart that inspires acts of kindness. The Mikey donation to the city's youth the importance of BOTH kinds of heart."

"We are proud that the Toronto District School Board is one of our partners," says Executive Director Morty Henkle. "Last year, Dr. Joel Kirsh of SickKids Hospital called me to suggest that having public-access defibrillators in the schools would benefit our children. He asked if we wanted to be involved, and we said YES!"

Dr. Joel Kirsh is a staff physician in Cardiology and Critical Care and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at SickKids®. He and the Labatt Family Heart Centre at SickKids are working with The Mikey Network. According to Dr. Kirsh, "Earlier this year, our partnership, through Mikey Young at Heart, launched a program of automatic defibrillators (AEDs) in the secondary schools and outdoor education centres of the Toronto District School Board. The hundreds of thousands of students, staff and community visitors to Toronto's schools are safer, thanks to Mikey."

Mikey's Kids

The Mikey Network's efforts to help children extend beyond schools. "The Mikey's Kids Program ensures that families from all parts of Ontario, whose children have life-threatening heart conditions, have access to life-saving AED technology," says Dr. Joel Kirsh of SickKids Hospital - one of The Mikey Network's critical partners. "The availability of an AED for these high-risk patients gives the families (and their medical team here at SickKids) wonderful piece of mind."

In July, The Mikey Network received a letter from social workers Laurie DeOliveira, Ruta Niedra and Kim Thompson of The Labatt Family Heart Centre at SickKids. They wrote, "We would like this opportunity to extend our thanks to you and The Mikey Network for your generous donations of defibrillators for several families that have recently been seen in the Labatt Family Heart Centre, either as in-patients or out-patients. Through the generosity of The Mikey Network in supplying defibrillators for the children and training for their caregivers, these children are able to be at home when they might not have otherwise been able to safely do so."

The Network recently donated a Mikey to the Van Hees family of Burlington. Melanie and James' two-year-old son Jakob has ventricular tachycardia, which places him at risk of sudden cardiac arrest. "Both our families have cottages near Kingston," Melanie says, "and we wouldn't feel comfortable going there - or anywhere else - without the security of the Mikey. We appreciate everything The Mikey Network stands for."

More Mikey's Placed!

 

Everyday Exercise as Easy as 1-2-3

By John Cardillo is CEO and founder of Premier Fitness and Mademoiselle Women’s Fitness Clubs

The heart is a muscle that needs regular workouts. Here are some practical things you can do as part of your everyday routine to enhance your fitness level.

1. Stretch!
Start your day out right. When you wake up, sit on the edge of the bed and stretch your upper and lower back, legs, hamstrings, calves and ankles before you place your feet on the floor. Then lie on your back and make your body as long as you can, with your arms outstretched above your head and toes pointeda. Always stretch before a workout.

2. Walk!
Walking is something you need to work up to, in order to avoid injury. Those with cardiovascular problems can access the HeartWalk Program developed by the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

3. MOVE!
Play with your kids. Take a night course in yoga or tai chi or visit your local community centre. Sign up for dancing lessons. Do something you enjoy, because you're more likely to stick with something you have fun with.

Everyday exercise efforts add up to improved health and agility. If you join a fitness club, check out the establishment's credentials. It's important to have proper instruction. Remember that exercise will take you only so far. Combine it with sensible eating for a truly heart-healthy lifestyle.

Ask your doctor's advice before you start a fitness program.

There is Strength in Numbers

By Morty Henkle, Executive Director of The Mikey Network

From the beginning, we have created partnerships with fantastic organizations and individuals. Over the past year, we have been fortunate to have acquired many more partners, some of whom are truly high profile.