Red Cross Helps Save Lives By Training People How To Perform CPR
CHICAGO (CBS) -- CPR saves lives, but the American Heart Association reports that 70% of Americans feel helpless in a cardiac emergency, because the don't know what to do.
So CBS 2 teamed up with the American Red Cross for CPR training. Ryan Baker, Megan Glaros, and Yasmeen Hassan got the skills they needed to perform a life-saving procedure when it's needed most.
An expert Red Cross instructor came to CBS 2 last week, and the morning team quickly learned there's a lot to learning CPR.
"There's a lot you have to keep track of, and you really do need to know what you're doing. These classes are great," Glaros said.
"I would think I'm going to break something, but she was like, 'No, you need to get in there, you need to push harder.' So I wouldn't have known that on my own," Hassan said.
"The training kicks in – knowing, like, check the area; send somebody for help; you get your 30 compressions; the rescue breaths; and it's all happening super quick," Baker said.
Before the hands-on training from the Red Cross, the morning team took an online CPR course.
"It was tedious, but you know what? Saving someone's life is important," Baker said.
The hands-on course was all about checking their skills to make sure they know, without a shadow of a doubt, what to do when performing CPR; from chest compressions to checking for responsiveness, rescue breathing, and knowing what's inside a first aid and CPR training kit and how to use it to help adults and infants.
"You have to be calm, cool, and collected, and remember this training, and save a life," Baker said.
Glaros said learning CPR is a basic skill everyone should learn.
"You never know," she said.
The Red Cross offers online classes and hands-on instruction in CPR. The certification lasts for two years.
