Fans Can Score CPR Skills During Buffalo Bills Training Camp
Football fans can join the growing ranks of lifesavers by using the region’s mobile hands-only CPR training station during Buffalo Bills Training Camp July 24 through August 8 at St. John Fisher University.
For a second consecutive year, UR Medicine and the American Heart Association will provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training to improve community readiness to respond in a heart emergency and leaders challenge fans to learn this important technique.
Someone’s chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest can double when they receive CPR. Damar Hamlin’s on-field cardiac arrest prompted a surge in interest in CPR, and UR Medicine and the Heart Association began a three-year effort to boost CPR skills in the Finger Lakes region.
“CPR preparedness is crucial when someone suffers cardiac arrest. Swift response with chest compressions until emergency responders arrive can make the difference in their survival,” said Stephanie Von Bacho, EdD, MSEd, MS, RN, NEA-BC, director of Learning and Development for UR Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, and University of Rochester.
Collaborating with the Heart Association, UR Medicine last year launched a community education program to improve skills and confidence to perform CPR.
It began last year when the mobile CPR kiosk premiered at Bills Training Camp, where 3,000 people stepped up for training.
“We challenge the Bills fan base to surpass that number this year,” Von Bacho said. “Build the time into your visit to training camp because learning this important technique is essential.”
The Heartsaver Hub CPR teaching station includes a touchscreen with a video program to provide a brief 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. It offers real-time feedback to strengthen technique.
“Less than half of all people who need CPR receive it from bystanders before professional help arrives,” said Megan Vargulick, executive director of the American Heart Association, Rochester. “Knowing how to respond in a cardiac emergency when seconds matter can be the difference between life and death. Thanks to UR Medicine, our Live Fierce. Take Action. supporter, this mobile CPR kiosk can improve the chances of surviving a cardiac arrest in our community. We are committed to creating a Nation of Lifesavers through training and education like this.”
Each year, more than 350,000 people experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, according to the Heart Association. That’s almost 1,000 every day. Recent data shows that in Monroe and Livingston counties, only 32 percent of people who suffered cardiac arrest at home received CPR prior to arrival of an ambulance. That rate is below the national target of 45 percent.
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 for you, and others, to practice and perfect your skills whenever and wherever you want.
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