New community program seeks to save lives with CPR training

HOLLAND — The city is implementing a new program aimed at saving lives by teaching residents CPR.

According to the American Heart Association, cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States, with approximately 350,000 cardiac arrests each year. In the first few minutes of a cardiac arrest event, CPR is critical. The time between when a 911 call is made and the arrival of first responders can be the difference between life and death.

For this reason, Holland is developing a program to teach community members how to administer CPR in the hopes that it will prevent unnecessary deaths.

The program will be overseen by the nationwide Citizen CPR Foundation. The Holland Department of Public Safety Fire Division is sponsoring the program with partners Holland Hospital, the Ottawa County Department of Public Health, American Medical Response, Evergreen Commons, Holland Rotary Charities, Jurries Family Foundation, Ottawa County Central Dispatch Authority and Macatawa Area Coordinating Council Community Enhancement Program.

It'll be known as “HeartSafe Holland.”

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There will be 13 criteria needed for Holland to earn a HeartSafe Community Designation. In addition to CPR training, other steps include automatic external defibrillator (AED) tracking and use, community health programs, and positively recognizing those that helped to save the lives of fellow community members.

The initiative was officially rolled out June 1 at the Holland Fire Department with a presentation on the program, an overview of local and national cardiac arrest issues and a demonstration.

— Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@livingstondaily.com. Follow her on Twitter @Tess_journalist.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: New community program seeks to save lives with CPR training