Monday, February 24, 2014

Be A Heart Starter!

Lafayette

While perusing the internet, we stumbled upon this great article about the community of Acadiana which has hosted an annual CPR Training event for the last 13 years, educating nearly 16,000 residents in bystander CPR. 
Wouldn't it be great if every community got involved and held an event like this, teaching the skills necessary to save a life in the event of  an unforeseen emergency.  Until that day comes, you can sign up for a course at HealthPro today.  We offer returning student and affiliation discounts - call 951-279-6110 or sign up at hpec.org today!
 
 
1 day 34 minutes ago by katc  

14th Annual Be A Heart Starter! CPR Training Scheduled

On Saturday, May 3, the 14th annual "Be a Heart Starter!" training day will be held at the Cajundome. Since training began in 2000, the survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest in Acadiana has increased from one percent to over 35 percent.

During the last 13 years, nearly 16,000 Acadiana residents have been trained in bystander CPR at this nationally recognized event. Last year over 1,000 people were trained.

Being prepared at home and having trained employees, combined with the rapid response of first responders, makes Acadiana a safer place to live. Seventy-five percent of all sudden cardiac arrests happen at home and many times no one knows how to administer CPR. If no bystander CPR is provided, chances of survival are reduced seven to 10 percent with each minute of delay.

"The fact that we are holding the 14th year of this event is only possible with the sponsorship and volunteer support of the Acadiana medical community and other community-minded companies and organizations that believe in making Acadiana a safer place to live," says Dr. Charles Wyatt, event founder and medical director. "We encourage everyone to register for this year's event, even if you have taken the course before. You never know when CPR training can save a friend or family member."

This free event is open to anyone middle school-age or older who wants to learn how to "Be A Heart Starter!" Two, two-hour sessions will be held, one at 8 a.m. and the second at 10:30 a.m. In addition to CPR training, there will be demonstrations on administering CPR to an infant and child along with how an automatic external defibrillator (AED) works in saving a victim's life. There will be special training table areas for participants who are not able to kneel comfortably during training. Also, a segment of the course will focus on stroke recognition.

Although there is no cost, advanced registration is requested by calling toll-free 877-242-4277 or online at www.heartstarter.org. Each participant will receive a "Be A Heart Starter!" T-shirt, a training course participation certificate and more.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone in Acadiana were prepared to save a life?