This initiative aims to equip community members with essential lifesaving skills and provide an important credential that can support neighbors in their job search.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Community Engagement Center (CEC) is taking a proactive step in enhancing community health and safety by offering American Heart Association (AHA) Heartsaver CPR AED training to local residents. This initiative, done as a collaboration of the CEC Health Suite and UMB Workforce Initiatives, aims to equip community members with essential lifesaving skills and provide an important credential that can support neighbors in their job search.
The Heartsaver CPR AED course is designed for individuals with little or no medical training who need a course completion card for job, regulatory, or other requirements. Participants can learn how to perform CPR on adults, children, and infants, use an AED (automated external defibrillator), and provide relief from choking. The idea to offer the course came from its instructor, Donna Downing-Corddry, who is a registered nurse when she is not volunteering at the CEC Health Suite. Course participants could register for just the cost of materials, $25, instead of the usual $90-plus fee. Participants who were unemployed were able to get a scholarship to cover the materials fee.
When asked why she volunteered to teach CPR, Downing-Corddry replied, "I personally know that providing CPR saves lives, and I teach it for the same reason. The most notable for me is when myself, my husband, and two cardiac nurses performed CPR on a choking victim at my nephew’s wedding in rural North Carolina. We used the skills taught by AHA to assist with a conscious adult choking victim [Heimlich] who became unresponsive, no pulse [CPR]. If we had not acted, she would not have survived as it took EMS more than 10 minutes to respond. That’s just one of my stories.”
Workforce Implications
Obtaining the Heartsaver CPR AED credential can significantly enhance employment opportunities for community members. Many employers, particularly in health care, education, child care, and public safety sectors, require or prefer candidates with CPR and AED certification. By offering this training, the CEC is not only fostering a safer community but also helping individuals improve their job prospects and career advancement potential.
Moreover, having a workforce trained in CPR and AED can lead to a safer work environment, because employees are better prepared to handle emergencies. This can reduce workplace accidents and improve overall employee well-being, contributing to a more resilient and responsive community. In fact, the CEC was able to direct some UMB employees who were interested to the CPR course offered by UMB Environmental Health and Safety, which is free to faculty, staff, and students. Its schedule can be found here: https://www.umaryland.edu/ehs/training/aed-cpr-training-schedule/.
For more information on how to enroll in the Heartsaver CPR AED training, community members are encouraged to subscribe to the Office of Community and Civic Engagement's e-newsletter, where announcements about the next training will be included: https://www.umaryland.edu/oce/subscribe-to-our-newsletter/.