Non-Profit Aims to Reduce Needless DFW Deaths with Free Workplace CPR Training and Awareness Program

Dallas Fort Worth non-profit offers free 45-minute CPR training for companies and organizations in order to turn bystanders into "by-savers" End Quote

Dallas, TX (1888PressRelease) July 31, 2010 - In less time than it takes for a single lunch hour, employees can learn, for free, how to save a life through Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). This because Dallas-based non-profit Mission CPR (www.MissionCPR.org) has launched its "Spend 45 Minutes, Save a Life" initiative offering workplace CPR awareness and basic skills training to area businesses and organizations completely free of charge. Mission CPR has launched this program as part of the American Heart Association's overriding "CPR Anytime" campaign created to increase the incidence of bystander CPR by making training more accessible.

"A full 93.6 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die simply because the vast majority of those witnessing the arrest do not know how to perform CPR and are reluctant to even try," says Jeff D. Hill, CEO of Mission CPR, whose own life was saved by CPR at age 3 and who has since saved a life using CPR through his work as an EMT. "Our organization aims to not only raise awareness about the vital importance of bystander CPR, but also actually save lives by providing local groups with basic, easily absorbed training in a convenient on-site workplace setting - at no cost to the employee, group member or organization."

"The session lasts only 45 minutes and very little time is needed to organize the presentation," Hill underscores. "This program is an invaluable employee benefit that has nothing but upside for all involved - the company, employee, their families and the Dallas/Fort Worth community at large."

At the age of 3, Hill's own life was saved by bystander CPR. Left briefly unattended, he fell in a pool and drowned. Hill had no heartbeat and had stopped breathing completely. A visiting relative heard his mother screaming once she pulled Hill from the pool, and he jumped in to try to help. This relative had received CPR training years before and was unsure if he was "doing it right," but he TRIED his best, revived Hill's heartbeat, and kept him alive long enough until the EMS arrived to take over. This experience exemplifies why even the most basic understanding of CPR is important and how those skills can prove critical in an emergency situation.

Hill notes, "The reality is many people in distress that need CPR do not get the help because bystanders are not trained or are afraid to try. Indeed, in my prior work as a firefighter and EMT, most bystanders waited until we arrived to attempt CPR and, most often, it was too late. Even the most basic skills training can give someone the knowledge and confidence needed to attempt CPR until medical professionals arrive, and can mean the difference between life and death."

In addition to its free "Spend 45 Minutes, Save a Life" training program, Mission CPR also offers interested and key employees full certification-based CPR and First Aid training at a reduced cost, with proceeds used to purchase additional American Heart Association CPR training kits to support and prolong the organization's free training efforts. Mission CPR sessions are available for company meetings and conferences, "lunch and learns," health fairs, benefits enrollment periods or any other time that best suits the business or organization.

Interested parties may visit www.MissionCPR.org to learn more about Mission CPR's free and reduced-fee certification programs. More information about the American Heart Association's "CPR Anytime" campaign may be accessed online at http://www.trihealth.com/aus/srv/CPR_Anytime.aspx.

About Mission CPR
Based in Keller, Texas, Mission CPR is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about the vital importance of bystander CPR in both a local and nationwide effort to save lives. The organization provides free CPR awareness presentations and basic skills training, and reduced-cost CPR and First Aid certifications, to businesses and organizations of all types throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth region. Mission CPR is spearheaded by CPR recipient and survivor Jeff D. Hill who himself, as a former EMT, has saved the life of another using CPR. Contact Mission CPR at 817-509-0004 or learn more about the organization online at www.MissionCPR.org.

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