Lee Health: Be a lifesaver – learn CPR

Larry Antonucci
·2 min read
The Healthy Life Center teams have two “Friends & Family CPR” classes scheduled for July.
The Healthy Life Center teams have two “Friends & Family CPR” classes scheduled for July.

Would you know what to do if someone stops breathing or their heart stops beating? If you know CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation), you have the skills and abilities to help save a life.

Acting quickly is crucial because brain damage begins after only four minutes without oxygen, so starting CPR immediately helps keep oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and other organs until normal heart rhythm is restored. A lay responder (community members) quickly starting CPR can significantly increase the chance of survival—immediate CPR can double or triple the chances of survival after cardiac arrest.

Dr. Larry Antonucci, president and chief executive officer of Lee Health.
Dr. Larry Antonucci, president and chief executive officer of Lee Health.

Knowing how to perform CPR is an important skill for people of all backgrounds because emergencies can happen anywhere, to anyone. CPR training gives you the clear steps you need to follow to help in an emergency. You do not need to be certified to know how to administer CPR.

Lee Health’s Healthy Life Center offers a “Family & Friends CPR” class at no charge. This informal, hands-only CPR class teaches the lifesaving skill, as well as how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). This class is not for people who need a CPR course completion card to meet a job requirement; rather, it is an ideal course for community groups, new parents, grandparents, babysitters and others interested in learning how to save a life.

The Healthy Life Center teams have two “Friends & Family CPR” classes scheduled for July:

  • 2-3 p.m., Tuesday, July 16, at WellWay – Cape Coral, 609 SE 13th Ct.

  • 2-3 p.m., Wednesday, July 24, at the Healthy Life Center – Coconut Point, 23450 Via Coconut Point.

For more information or to sign up to attend one of these classes, call 239-468-0050 or go to leehealth.org/health-and-wellness/wellness-events-and-classes and search “CPR.”

I am the 2024 Lee Heart Walk Chair, and together with the team at the American Heart Association (AHA), we are focused on the “Nation of Lifesavers” movement, which is AHA’s commitment to CPR and turning bystanders into lifesavers.

If you are not able to attend one of the July “Friends & Family CPR” classes, Lee County EMS offers the American Heart Association HeartSaver AED and HeartSaver First Aid public education courses. For more information about these courses, visit tinyurl.com/LeeCountyCPR.

More: Lee Health: Take stock of your health needs this hurricane season

And: Lee Health: An update on our business structure evaluation

Also: Lee Health: Opportunities to invest in your wellbeing

Larry Antonucci, M.D., MBA is the president & CEO of Lee Health, Southwest Florida’s major destination for health care offering acute care, emergency care, rehabilitation and diagnostic services, health and wellness education, and community outreach and advocacy programs. Visit LeeHealth.org to learn more.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Lee Health: Be a lifesaver – learn CPR

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