Thursday, February 05, 2009
American Heart Association: Matters of the heart
On Valentine's Day, CPR classes will be held across the region.
The Roanoke Times | File 2008
The American Heart Association is offering free classes on adult CPR and the Heimlich maneuver on Valentine's Day.
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This year, Valentine's Day is sure to deliver roses by the dozens. And heart-shaped cards will be exchanged in many classrooms around the nation.
But hearts will get a workout of another kind at classes around the region this Feb. 14. The American Heart Association is celebrating Heart Saver Saturday with its annual "Friends and Family" CPR class. And it's free.
Elizabeth Vail, the association's regional director, noted that this class will not certify participants but will educate many about adult CPR and the Heimlich maneuver.
"I do know that many cardiac arrests happen in the home," Vail said. "We'd love for people to feel comfortable to use CPR so their loved one has a greater chance of surviving."
Lois Ashby is a registered nurse for the cardiac rehabilitation center at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Salem. She's also a certified instructor for the American Heart Association and has been training fellow employees for more than 20 years.
Ashby began volunteering as an instructor for the association's Heart Saver Saturday events in the early 1990s and looks forward to it every year.
"They feel empowered that they can make a difference," Ashby said of the attendees. "They take it seriously. They want to do a good job. And they're so appreciative."
Ashby, who has taught the class for about 15 years, said she has seen every type of person attend. She specifically remembered a year that a Girl Scout troop and members of the National Guard filled most of her class. One Girl Scout had to climb onto a chair to wrap her arms around the large men from the National Guard, Ashby said.
The Friends and Family CPR class is offered in Roanoke and at three other locations around the region. Priscilla Gauldin, the American Heart Association's regional office manager, said this event also will be held in Lexington, Rocky Mount and Moneta.
Gauldin also reported that 14 instructors plan to donate their time. And with about half of the available slots already taken, the classes are sure to fill up.
Kathy Jennings, a nurse specialist for Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, has served as an American Heart Association board member for about 25 years. She speaks highly of the association and the training it offers.
"I believe in the work the heart association does. They also are very aggressive with education. They always make sure they have the most recent information. They are all about education support and research," Jennings said.
Many have attended this event in past years as a Valentine's Day present to their loved ones, Ashby said.
She said, "What better gift could you give yourself and what better gift could you give someone else?"
