Every year, more than 436,000 Americans die from cardiac arrest—many of them outside of a hospital setting. But according to the American Heart Association, bystander CPR can double or even triple the chances of survival. That’s why South Florida community leader Rita Case is on a mission to train the next generation of lifesavers, one compression at a time.
Joining Inside South Florida, Case shared her passion for CPR education and introduced viewers to Hands-Only CPR, a simplified, effective method of resuscitation that doesn’t require mouth-to-mouth contact.
“Gone are the days of complicated CPR techniques,” Case explained. “With research, they found out that hands-only CPR–which is just a chest compression in a 1-2-3, 1-2-3 rhythm–is even more effective because it can be done so much quicker than trying to do mouth to mouth.”
To help spread that knowledge, Case has championed the use of CPR Anytime Training Kits in local schools. In partnership with the American Heart Association, these kits are distributed to middle and high schools throughout Broward County. Teachers receive training, then educate their students year-round on how to recognize cardiac arrest and administer CPR confidently.
“Young people are in the places where CPR might be most needed–like concerts, movie theaters, malls, their grandparents house,” she said. “We feel, and it's been proven, that if they can learn and feel comfortable with CPR, they're going to be life savers”
The training kits include CPR mannequins for both adults and infants, and have recently been introduced into local hospitals, such as Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital and Broward Health, where families of high-risk patients can take them home for added preparedness.
While Case hopes to expand the reach of the program further into the community, she emphasizes that anyone can learn CPR today. Go to theAmerican Heart Association’s website and learn hands-only CPR today.
