10,000th Fan Will Learn CPR at Buffalo Bills Training Camp

Buffalo Bills fans have been learning to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) during Training Camp here in Rochester for three years. And as pre-season practices begin in Rochester, someone will be the 10,000^th fan to acquire this life skill--a milestone worthy of celebration.

The Heartsaver Hub training station will be available at throughout Buffalo Bills Training Camp. Adults and children can learn to hands-only CPR and respond in a heart emergency.

University of Rochester Medicine and the American Heart Association are offering hands-only CPR lessons during Training Camp, which begins Wednesday and continues through Friday, Aug. 7, at St. John Fisher University.

It’s free and easy.

“Buffalo Bills fans have been eager to learn CPR as a way to honor safety Damar Hamlin after his on-field cardiac arrest in 2023,” said Stephanie VonBacho, EdD, MSEd, MS, RN, NEA-BC, senior director of Learning and Development for the University of Rochester and URochester Medicine. “We are proud to join the Heart Association in providing this learning opportunity to our community and celebrate each trainee who could save a life.”

The HeartSaver Hub, the region’s only mobile hands-only CPR training station, will be on site and a team of trainers will offer instruction for adults and children. This teaching station includes a brief video training followed by a practice session and a 30-second test. It has a built-in, rubber torso, or manikin, to guide proper hand placement as well as compression rate and depth and offers real-time feedback for users to strengthen technique.

Each year, more than 350,000 people experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, according to the Heart Association. When someone suffers cardiac arrest, bystander CPR can double their chance of survival doubles when they receive CPR before first responders arrive.

Recent data shows that in Monroe and Livingston counties, only about third of all people who suffered cardiac arrest at home received CPR prior to arrival of an ambulance, which is below the national target of 45 percent.

The community has seen several CPR success stories in recent years: a teen who saved his father during a golf outing and a woman who saved a girl struck by lightning.

URochester Medicine and the Heart Association have been working together to expand CPR readiness in the Rochester area. In addition to the mobile training kiosk, anyone can learn hands-only CPR by borrowing a CPR Go-Bag through the Monroe County Library System. The kit provides self-guided training to practice and perfect CPR skills whenever and wherever you want.

The two organizations recently expanded their collaborative program for another three years. Learn more about their efforts.