SGA, EMS Join Forces to Hold CPR Training

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Emory Wheel

By Se Hwan Youn

Emory Emergency Medical Services and the Student Government Association are teaming up to provide every member of Emory with free CPR training to enhance campus preparedness in case of an emergency.

Hosted in conjunction with the American Heart Association, Emory Healthcare and Step Up Emory, the CPR training will run an hour each evening from Tuesday until Thursday in the Woodruff P.E. Center.

"This will be the largest CPR training in United States history," said Kevin Kelly, SGA chief of staff nominee.

Kelly said Atlanta has one of the worst mortality rates in the country in terms of CPR survival rate, mainly because of a lack of CPR education.

Daniel Sperling, assistant chief of operations for EMS, said the idea started when he and SGA President Emily Allen were brainstorming ideas on how to connect EMS to the rest of the Emory community.

"I have felt that over the years Emory EMS has provided a vital service to the community that has gone unnoticed by many, except for the patients that we treat," Sperling said.

This event, according to Sperling, will provide an opportunity to show what Emory EMS does on a daily basis without the crisis of an emergency situation.

"From there, you basically follow along people who are certified," Kelly said.

Along with 15,000 kits and instructions provided for the trainees, a DVD called "CPR Anytime," created by the American Heart Association, will be shown to demonstrate basic understanding of the CPR process.

Josh Rozell, chief of EMS, said he hopes to make Emory "a national role model for CPR training" and that the event will show "how student organizations could work together to achieve a common goal that can have a great impact on campus."

Kelly said that in Georgia, people who receive any kind of training provided by the American Heart Association are protected from liability by the state

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