Health Center to Offer Free “Hands-Only” CPR Class

Livingston County Health Center is offering free “Hands-Only” CPR at their office  next Thursday, June 26^th, over the noon hour.   Those interested should call to reserve a spot, as there is limited space per session.  The health center plans to offer Hands Only CPR on a quarterly basis, so there will be two more opportunities to get trained yet this year.

Hands-Only CPR is CPR without mouth-to-mouth breaths. It is recommended for use by people who see a teen or adult suddenly collapse in an “out-of-hospital” setting (such as at home, at work or in a park). It consists of two easy steps:

·         Call 9-1-1 (or send someone to do that).

·         Push hard and fast in the center of the chest.

Every five years, the American Heart Association publishes updated guidelines for CPR and emergency cardiovascular care. These guidelines reflect a thorough review of current science by international experts. The 2010 guidelines reported that in studies of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, adults who received Hands-Only CPR from a bystander were more likely to survive than those who didn’t receive any type of CPR from a bystander. In other studies, survival rates of adults with cardiac arrest treated by people who weren’t healthcare professionals were similar with either Hands-Only CPR or conventional CPR.

When interviewed, bystanders said panic was the major obstacle to performing CPR. The simpler Hands-Only technique may help overcome panic and hesitation to act.

Learning basic CPR skills may help save the life of a loved one in case of heart attack.

Call 646-5506 to find out more, or reserve your spot.

All services of the health center are provided on a non-discriminatory basis.