UNC Charlotte will host cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training for students, faculty and staff from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Wednesday, Oct.8, in the Barnhardt Student Activity Center.
Medic personnel will teach participants proper hand placement and how to perform compressions on a CPR manikin, a medical simulation device. Participants will be able to ask questions and learn the importance of quick action during a cardiac arrest.
The 30-minute training sessions will begin at approximately 10:15 a.m. with Chancellor Philip L. Dubois and Tom Reynolds, dean of the Graduate School, who was a victim of sudden cardiac arrest.
“I was lucky these professionals were there to save my life,” explained Reynolds. “If they hadn’t been around, would you have known what to do?”
Organizers are seeking to increase the number of people on campus who know how to save a life in the event of a cardiac arrest.
The University’s Office of Environmental Health & Safety again is partnering with Mecklenburg EMS Agency (Medic) to offer the mass CPR training. Last fall, more than 250 students, faculty and staff learned hands-only CPR.
EH&S hopes to increase that number to 350 or more this year.
In addition to the hands-on CPR training, Medic instructors will review the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AED’s). The University has approximately 50 AEDs located across campus, and the Oct. 8 training provides a great opportunity to learn how to use them in case of an emergency.
Sudden cardiac arrest can happen anywhere at any time. For every minute that proper CPR is delayed, a victim’s chance of survival decreases by 10 percent. Increasing bystander medical awareness and training to aid individuals who experience sudden cardiac arrest is the impetus for Medic’s “Lucky Hearts” campaign. As part of this initiative, and in recognition of October as Sudden Cardiac Awareness month, UNC Charlotte faculty, staff and students are encouraged to participate.
For additional information on the event, contact Darius Griffin, Office of Environmental Health and Safety, at 704-687-1111 or email ehsoffice@uncc.edu.