L-R: Laurie Schmidt, AHA Youth Market Director; Gregory M. Asfoury, Newark Valley Middle School Principal; Dan Spence, Director of Business and Indirect Development at Visions Federal Credit Union and 2022 Southern Tier Heart Walk Co-Chairman; Franklin Fry, AHA Executive Director
The American Heart Association is helping to train the next generation of lifesavers. Thanks to support from Visions Federal Credit Union and Matthews Auto Group, the organization delivered CPR in Schools kits to three local schools earlier this month.
Each year, more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) [1] occur in the United States and fewer than half of these people receive the immediate help that they need before professional help arrives. 2 The American Heart Association is working to increase the number of bystanders who use CPR in an emergency.
In 2015, New York State passed the CPR in Schools bill, making Hands-Only CPR training a graduation requirement. Training students adds thousands of potential lifesavers in the Southern Tier every year.
2nd from left: Kathy Breno, Director of Marketing at Matthews Auto Group and 2023 Southern Tier Heart Walk Chairwoman; Center: Laurie Schmidt, AHA Youth Market Director; additional people from Charles F. Johnson
The American Heart Association’s CPR in Schools Training Kit™ enables 10 to 20 students at once to learn the lifesaving skills of CPR in just one class period. It can be used to teach Hands-Only CPR or CPR with breaths. Plus, the kit teaches AED use and choking relief. The easy-to-use kit is designed specifically for the needs of schools and can be used to train hundreds of students overtime. The American Heart Association, Visions Federal Credit Union, and Matthews Auto Group delivered CPR in Schools kits to Newark Valley Middle School in Newark Valley, Charles F. Johnson Elementary School in Endicott, and Harpursville Jr/Sr High School in Harpursville.
“Immediate CPR can double or even triple a sudden cardiac arrest victim’s chances of survival,” said Dan Spence, and Director of Business and Indirect Development at Visions Federal Credit Union and 2022 Southern Tier Heart Walk Co-Chairman. “Visions Federal Credit Union is proud to help train more students in this lifesaving skill.”
L-R: Angie Bough, PE and Health Teacher; Tom Ryder, PE and Health Teacher; Laurie Schmidt, AHA Youth Market Director; Dan Spence, Director of Business and Indirect Development at Visions Federal Credit Union and 2022 Southern Tier Heart Walk Co-Chairman
“About 70% of out of hospital cardiac arrests happen at home. That means the life you save with CPR will most likely be the life of someone you love,” said Kathy Breno, Director of Marketing at Matthews Auto Group and 2023 Southern Tier Heart Walk Chairwoman. “By placing these CPR in Schools kits in local schools, we can help more people to be prepared in a cardiac emergency, no matter where it takes place.”
In 2009, the American Heart Association launched a nationwide Hands-Only CPR campaign to raise awareness about this life-saving skill. Since 2012, over 10.5 million people have been trained in Hands-Only CPR via events, training kiosks and video education with the support of Anthem Foundation.
CPR in Schools kit
To learn more about Hands-Only CPR, visit www.heart.org/HandsOnlyCPR.
1 https://cpr.heart.org/en/resources/cpr-facts-and-stats
2 https://mycares.net/sitepages/uploads/2021/2020_flipbook/index.html?page=30