June 10, 2019
rawpixel.com/Pexels
IBX is ensuring employees can attempt to save a life with CPR.
In an effort to keep the spirit of Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Awareness Week — which took place nationally from June 1 to June 7 — going, the American Heart Association (AHA) is teaming up with two local organizations, Independence Blue Cross and CPR Ready, for free “hands-only” CPR training sessions on Wednesday.
While these sessions will be open only to Independence Blue Cross employees, it's the latest effort to increase awareness of cardiac arrest and how to prepare for one. According to the heart association, 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital, and 20 percent in public places — where the survival rate is below 10 percent.
The training sessions, taking place on Wednesday, June 12 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at 1901 Market, will take just minutes to complete. Independence employees will practice on manikins the hands-only approach to CPR, which can double or triple a person’s survivals from cardiac arrest.
RELATED READ: Here's how IBX is fighting the opioid epidemic
“Hands-only CPR helps bystanders understand how they can immediately help a person who experiences a cardiac emergency outside of a hospital,” the AHA’s press release explains.
This training comes just after a bill was passed requiring all Pennsylvania high school students to receive CPR training prior to graduation, an effort to put over 130,000 “trained lifesavers” into the world every year.
