Advanced Life Support Education Program

ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) and BLS (Basic Life Support) courses at Southlake

The Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) course is designed to teach the skills needed to assess and administer care within the first 10 minutes of an adult cardiac arrest.

Southlake is proud to offer ACLS and BLS in accordance with Heart and Stroke Foundation. All courses are overseen by ACLS and BLS instructors accredited by the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Providers learn the skills needed to manage advanced cardiac life support scenarios: respiratory emergency, various types of cardiac arrest (simple VT/VF, complex VT/VF, PEA (Pulseless Electrical Activity) and asystole), pre-arrest emergencies: stable and unstable bradycardia and tachycardia, acute coronary syndromes and stroke.

Courses are run in accordance with the most recent iteration of the Canadian Resuscitation and First Aid Guidelines. This reflects current best practice and is in conjunction with the Heart and Stroke Foundation (HSF) as a member of the International Liason Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR).

Upcoming Courses and Sign-up

January 20, 21, 9 a.m. – (BLS renewal included if needed)
January 27, 28, 9 a.m. – (BLS renewal included if needed)
February 10, 11, 9 a.m. – (BLS renewal included if needed)
March 2, 3, 9 a.m. – (BLS renewal included if needed)

Please click here to sign up for either of these courses.

FAQs

Where are the courses held?

All courses are held at the Southlake Simulation Centre

Located on the 5^th floor of the Southlake Village (640 Grace St, Newmarket, ON L3Y 8V7)

How long are the courses?

ACLS full course: 14hrs (over 2 days)

ACLS recertification: 7hrs (over 1 day)

BLS renewal: 2hrs

Do I need to be a Southlake Hospital Employee or a healthcare professional working at Southlake to register for the course?

Not necessarily. However, wherever possible preference will be provided to ensure availability for Southlake hospital employees and healthcare providers who are affiliated with Southlake.

Do I need BLS in order to take ACLS?

Yes. The Heart and Stroke mandates that a valid BLS certificate must be in place in order to take an ACLS course.

If you do not have a valid BLS certificate (or if it has expired) we can offer BLS renewal at the time of your ACLS course.

How do I sign up for the course?

In order to register for the course you are interested in you must log onto the Heart and Stroke Resuscitation Portal and create an account (cpr.heartandstroke.ca)

Once you have created an account you can search for the course using the “Find a Course” tab. You can search for the course you are interested in by looking it up by date or “course code”.

How much does the course cost?
ACLS full course: $250
ACLS Recert: $200
BLS: $50

There is a $50 discount that can be applied for Southlake employees (RN, RPN, RT, all other allied health professionals interested in the course)

Is there a way I can have a more tailored ACLS educational experience that is more relevant to my area of clinical practice?

Yes. Please see the section below on “Private or Departmental group courses”

Private or Departmental group courses:

Do you have a busy schedule and need us to accommodate to your availability?

Do multiple people in your department need ACLS or BLS (or renewal)?

Would you like a course that is only for specific groups (e.g. nursing only, physician only, subspecialty clinical practice only)?

Would you prefer to do ACLS and BLS with a group of colleagues in the same specialty/subspecialty area such that it is better tailored to your needs?

We can arrange a private course for your group. Email acls@southlake.ca

Cost: $250 for ACLS + $50 if BLS is required

Minimum number of students required for private course is 4.