Red Cross instructors to offer CPR, first aid session

Blair's Red Cross Club is planning a first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training session for Blair students some time near spring break. Participants will have the chance to receive certifications in first aid and CPR from the humanitarian organization American Red Cross (ARC). The club will announce details about the date in the coming weeks.

Instructors from the ARC will carry out the training, which will take place in a Blair classroom. Expected to last for two hours, the session will teach Blazers how to perform CPR and administer different types of first aid. Students who complete the session will be certified for two years. According to senior Ashley Yuen, the club's Administrative Vice President, last year's training session taught participants how to respond to a variety of emergency situations. "Some things we learned included recognizing the symptoms of a stroke, [making] slings and splints, treating broken bones and burns, and [performing] the Heimlich maneuver if people are choking," she said. The Red Cross Club hopes to make these training sessions an annual event. Founded only last year, the club held the first training because members noticed a demand for training in the community. "We found that most of our members and even people outside the club really wanted to be trained and certified," Yuen said. Although last year's session did not have as many participants as the club had hoped due to scheduling conflicts, Yuen still viewed it as a success, with all eight participants becoming certified. In order to prepare for this year's training, the club introduced a new first aid skill every meeting, such as how to respond when someone is having a stroke.

Senior Alex Li, the club's Communications Vice President, is hopeful that more people will participate this year. "I definitely think there will be a greater turnout this year as we advertised about [the training] since the beginning of the school year," he said, adding that many people joined the club this year just for the session.

Yuen agreed, adding that she hopes more people will participate because it is such a valuable experience. "After training, students will learn how to recognize and respond to most health-related situations," she said. "Everyone is likely to encounter a situation in their lifetime where first aid or CPR is needed—choking, burns or someone having a stroke or a seizure. It's important to know how to handle the situation."