Free Hands-Only CPR training to be offered Oct. 28

Hundreds of Purdue students, faculty and staff will have the opportunity to learn the lifesaving skill of hands-only CPR on Oct. 28. The American Heart Association and the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation are teaming up to train the public in Hands-Only CPR during a mobile tour that will return to Purdue for a third visit.

“You’ll learn a lifesaving skill – for free – and enjoy music and fun while you’re doing it,” says Bill Bell, vice president for human resources. “And you’ll be prepared to spring into action if you see someone suffer a cardiac emergency.”

Thirty-minute training sessions will be held at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. at Centennial Mall South.

During the tour stop, the first 250 participants will receive a free Hands-Only CPR Anytime Training Kit that they can take home to extend this lifesaving skill to family members and friends. The event will have a Q&A session for a chance to win prizes. Additional giveaways include branded tote bags and branded T-shirts. Purdue students, faculty and staff may pre-register for a training session at www.heart.org/cprtour/purdue. Employees may attend in paid status with their supervisor’s approval.

Participants will learn Hands-Only CPR during interactive sessions set to music. Two emcees will lead 30-minute sessions in which they perform a song that is 100 to 120 beats per minute – the rate to push on the chest during CPR. 

In addition to the training sessions, the tour will feature the following:

• AED Learning Lab: This interactive station shows users how to properly use an automated external defibrillator, or AED.
• Mobile Kiosk Learning Lab: This instructional station will provide an opportunity to learn Hands-Only CPR on a high-fidelity manikin that is connected to a touch screen laptop. Participants can practice Hands-Only CPR on the manikin and do a test session that will generate a score and provide real-time feedback on their training.
• Social Media Stations:  Visitors can post about their training experience and share information about Hands-Only CPR via social media stations.

According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital each year in the United States. Statistically speaking, if someone is called on to give CPR in an emergency, that person most likely will be trying to save the life of someone they know and love.

To learn more about the Hands-Only CPR campaign and get ready to save a life, visit heart.org/handsonlycpr or facebook.com/AHACPR.