Did you know that 7 million Americans a year suffer major accidents or sudden events like heart attacks leading to disabling injuries? In many cases, the biggest key to how quickly, and how fully, a person recovers is how quickly they get help.
If you saw someone in distress, would you know how to help? You would if you’d taken a recent CPR and first aid class. These classes are a requirement for many jobs, from lifeguard to paramedic, but many hospitals and local organizations also offer them to the general public.
If you have spouse or parent who gets support from a home health care worker, getting trained puts you in a position to respond to any emergencies when you’re around but the aide isn’t. If you babysit for grandchildren or friends—or if you have young children of your own—the classes prepare you to respond if a child falls in a pool or chokes on a bite of food, or all sorts of other unthinkable but common situations.
South of Boston, you can find CPR and first aid classes at a number of places, including Jordan Hospital, South Shore Hospital in South Weymouth, Norwood Hospital and Morton Hospital in Taunton. (For information on classes at Norwood, Morton and other hospitals in the Steward Health Care system, you can use a search tool at this site.)
There are a few different classes available at the various hospitals, including some covering the basics of CPR and first aid, others focused specifically on emergency care for infants and children and a “Heartsaver” class that includes CPR and basic life support, as well as the use of defibrillators.
The classes cost between $35 and $50. Some offer official certification that’s required for certain jobs and volunteer work, while others are just for regular people who want to know what to do in a crisis. And really, shouldn’t all of us fall into that second category?