Instructors with Penn Medicine Princeton Health taught 71 Family & Friends CPR courses in June, training more than 2,300 individuals in basic lifesaving skills. The classes were offered as part of Free CPR Week, which Princeton Health Community Wellness has provided annually since 2010 in an effort to emphasize the importance of learning CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).
The numbers of classes and attendees were the highest ever for Free CPR Week, said Debbie Millar, RN, director of Community Wellness and Engagement at Princeton Health.
Every year, the American Heart Association (AHA) estimates, about 350,000 people have heart attacks outside of hospital settings. Immediate, effective CPR can double or even triple their chances of survival, according to the AHA.
As an AHA training center, Princeton Health Community Wellness provides classes year-round for healthcare professionals who need to obtain or maintain CPR certifications.
Princeton Health also offers Family & Friends CPR courses, which are open to lay people, covering both CPR and how to assist someone who is choking. There are two separate curricula: one to provide care for children and adults and a second for infants up to 1 year old.
During Free CPR Week in 2023 – which actually spanned two weeks, from June 3 through June 15 – Princeton Health instructors delivered child/adult and infant courses at Community Wellness locations and other community sites, including libraries, senior centers, and schools. Private classes were also provided at local companies and organizations.