Today, I’m excited to be blogging you live from the official kick-off of the AHA’s new Hands-Only™ CPR Campaign at The Grace Building in New York City. Joining me for the celebration are several members of AHA leadership including President Gordon Tomaselli, CEO Nancy Brown, National Chairman William Roach, Chief Mission Officer Meighan Girgus and EVP of Communications Matt Bannister, our campaign sponsor, WellPoint Foundation, Laerdal Medical, experts in CPR training and science, survivors of sudden cardiac arrest and our new campaign spokesperson, actress and comedian Jennifer Coolidge!
Our new campaign uses a fun theme of the Bee Gees’ disco classic “Stayin’ Alive” (the song that’s been shown to help people remember the correct rate of CPR compressions) and focuses on giving bystanders the confidence to act if they witness a sudden cardiac arrest. At today’s event, we’ll launch our new public service announcement starring Ms. Coolidge and release our new Hands-Only CPR instructional video – both available at our newly-designed Hands-Only CPR website for you to view and download.
In addition, today’s event is our first stop on the mobile Hands-Only CPR tour! Our state-of-the-art mobile CPR training unit and certified trainers will be present to teach New Yorkers the simple steps to save a life. From here, the Hands-Only CPR mobile training unit will travel to host trainings in eight cities this summer. Over the next three years, the unit will be traveling across the county to build awareness and train people in lifesaving CPR skills.
With this campaign, we hope to train several hundred thousand people in Hands-Only CPR and also encourage people to learn conventional CPR. It’s easier than ever to save a life and I’m confident this campaign will raise significant awareness of how easy it can be!
Join the discussion on Hands-Only CPR – comment on my blog post, and check out what people are saying on our AHA CPR & First Aid Facebook and Twitter sites.
Also, please check back later this week for photos from today’s NYC kick-off!