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  2. Lord Fairfax EMS Council: CPR Week

Jun 2, 2023

Our conversation today with Kendra Sours, CPR Coordinator for Lord Fairfax EMS Council was very insightful. She talked about the statistics surrounding cardiac events & cardiovascular disease. She gave details about the types of training they offer to a wide variety of individuals.

American Heart Association classes offered by Lord Fairfax EMS Council include:

  • Healthcare Provider CPR
    The BLS Course trains participants to promptly recognize several life-threatening emergencies, give high-quality chest compressions, deliver appropriate ventilations and provide early use of an AED. 
    In the Instructor-led course, students participate in simulated clinical scenarios and learning stations. Students work with an AHA BLS Instructor to complete BLS skills practice and skills testing. Students also complete a written exam.
  • Heartsaver First Aid with Adult, Child, & Infant CPR & AED training (or any combination of)
    Heartsaver® First Aid CPR AED is a video-based, instructor-led course that teaches students critical skills needed to respond to and manage an emergency until emergency medical services arrives. Skills covered in this course include first aid; choking relief in adults, children, and infants; and what to do for sudden cardiac arrest in adults, children, and infants.
    This course teaches skills with the AHA’s research-proven practice-while-watching technique, which allows instructors to observe the student.
  • Heartcode CPR (online training with required skills demonstration)
    HeartCode BLS uses a variety of eLearning assets such as dramatizations, eSimulations, animations, self-directed learning, and interactive activities to teach students BLS knowledge and skills.
    After completing the online portion, students attend a structured BLS Hands-On Session with an AHA Instructor. This session focuses on meaningful skills practice, team scenarios, and skills testing. This is for healthcare professionals seeking an alternative method for completing an initial or renewal HCP course. 
  • Blended Learning Heartsaver course (online training with required skills demonstration)
    Heartsaver Blended Learning courses include an online portion and a hands-on session. The online portion provides the flexibility of completing training at your own pace, either at work, home, or wherever you have Internet access. The hands-on portion includes a skills practice and testing session conducted in-person with an AHA BLS or Heartsaver Instructor.

We discussed the value of learning (and feeling confident in performing) CPR in any circumstance. Kendra walked me through what I should do if someone near me at Target for example suffers a cardiac event. She explained how AED's work and gave some tips for using them correctly and safely.

To learn more about CPR, the Lord Fairfax EMS Council, and the other types of education and training they offer, attend their Open House on June 23, visit their website: https://lfems.vaems.org/ and follow them on Facebook.