Community Medical Training

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Training

Cardiac arrest – an electrical malfunction in the heart that causes an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) and disrupts the flow of blood to the brain, lungs and other organs – is a leading cause of death. Each year, more than 350,000 EMS-assessed out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States. When a person has a cardiac arrest, survival depends on immediately receiving CPR from someone nearby. According to the American Heart Association, about 90 percent of people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests die. CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival. (Source: American Heart Association)

If you are interested in learning how to provide Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and operate an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED), you can learn these life-saving skills by taking courses developed specifically for the layperson.

Courses are offered periodically by the Montgomery County EMS Training Institute. For course information and to register, visit http://emstrainingcenter.org.

In addition, several non-profit and for-profit organizations offer CPR training for the public:

Note: This list of organizations is provided for convenience and may not be all-inclusive.

Hands Only CPR

If you are called on to give CPR in an emergency, you will most likely be trying to save the life of someone you love: a child, a spouse, a parent or a friend. Hands-Only CPR has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR for cardiac arrest at home, at work or in public.

Hands-Only CPR has just two easy steps, performed in this order:

  1. Call 911 if you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse.
  2. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of a familiar song that has 100 to 120 beats per minute (e.g. “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees, “Crazy in Love” by Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z, “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira or “Walk the Line” by Johnny Cash).

To watch training videos and learn more, visit https://cpr.heart.org/en/cpr-courses-and-kits/hands-only-cpr.

(Source: American Heart Association)

Bleeding Control and Naloxone Training

The Montgomery County EMS Training Institute also offers training in bleeding control and Naloxone administration. Naloxone (trade name: Narcan) is a medication designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. For course information and to register, visit http://emstrainingcenter.org.

For additional information on any of these programs, contact us at (610) 278-2666.