Southern Indiana Hospital Offering Free Hands-Only CPR Training in March

Would you know what to do if you were out with friends or family and someone suddenly had a heart attack or other cardiac event and collapsed to the floor? Obviously, the first thing you'd do is call 911, but when every second counts in a situation like that, taking the right additional action while you wait for help to arrive could be the difference between life and death. Deaconess Hospital in Evansville has teamed up with the American Red Cross to offer you the chance to learn the skills necessary that could save a life in an emergency situation.

The Importance of Knowing How to Perform CPR

According to statistics from the American Heart Association provided by Deaconess Hospital, "about 90 percent of people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests will not survive." That is a shockingly high number, in my opinion. Of course, one of the most highly publicized incidents of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests played out on live TV back in January when Buffalo Bills player, Damar Hamlin collapsed to the ground during a routine play after taking a shoulder to the chest while attempting to tackle Cincinnati Bengals receiver, Tee Higgins. Fortunately for Demar, medical staff were on the field within seconds of his collapse and were able to keep him alive until an ambulance could transport him to a Cincinnati hospital.

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I understand that specific out-of-hospital incident is different than others because it took place at a location where a team of paramedics and other medical personnel were on site and ready to go in the event something like that took place. Had that happened outside of that environment, it's possible Demar would not be alive today.

The point is, the chances of you or someone your with being in a place where medical personnel is nearby is slim to none. Damar's incident put a spotlight on the importance of being trained in even the most basic CPR. The American Heart Association says performing CPR "can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival" if performed immediately.

Deaconess Hospital Hosting Free Hands-Only CPR Training

The Hands-Only CPR Training course will take place at the Pavilion Conference Center in the Ortho Neuro Hospital on the Deaconess Gateway campus on Saturday, March 4th from 10:00 AM until 2:00 PM. Each class will last 45 minutes and you'll be taught the proper technique for performing hands-only CPR in the event you ever need to use it.

Advanced registration for the class is required and can be done through the Deaconess website.

[Source: Deaconess]