SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
In honor of February’s National Heart Month, the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority will conduct its fourth annual Save a Heart free CPR Awareness Training event and health fair from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday at Scheels in Sparks. CPR awareness courses begin at the top of every hour.
“The bottom line is that CPR saves lives,” said J.W. Hodge, education manager at REMSA. “Community members taking the time to learn CPR will make the difference of life and death in many situations as they are often the first people to witness sudden cardiac arrest. With 80 percent of these deaths occurring at home, it is crucial that more community members are prepared to respond. This is one way we will be able to increase the chances of survival for victims in our community. The more people we have in the community that are capable of performing CPR, the better off we are.”
The CPR training is not an official certification course but is instead an awareness course, and the first 100 participants will receive a free “CPR Anytime” kit to take home and train other family members with the self-directed DVD and inflatable manikin. However, REMSA will offer a free 10-person CPR certification course to the business or organization that brings the most people to participate in the CPR training.
The fair will also feature:
* Point of Impact Child Safety Seat Checkpoint that will be held in the Scheels’ parking lot starting at 9 a.m. Limited to the first 30 cars
* Safe Kids Washoe County will distribute information on how to keep children safe
* Washoe Co. ID Program Child Fingerprinting
* Milan providing free chair massage
* Northern Nevada Medical Center providing free blood pressure checks
* American Heart Association
* Washoe County Regional Parks
* Fitness for 10
* Care Flight
More than 900 people per day in the United States die from sudden cardiac arrest. People trained to provide CPR in the community will greatly improve the chances of survival for these victims. Studies by the American heart Association have found that early CPR within the first three to five minutes after a collapse can result in a more than 50 percent chance of long-term survival.
For more information or questions, contact REMSA at (775) 858-5700 or www.remsaeducation.com.
About REMSA
REMSA is a private, not-for-profit emergency medical services system serving northern Nevada. REMSA’s state-of-the-art 9-1-1 dispatch communications center is fully accredited, as are all emergency medical transport services of the company. REMSA provides quality patient care with no taxpayer support or other subsidies.
