Cranberry EMS set to host Save-a-Life Saturday ceremony, offer free CPR training Feb. 15
While the sacrifices of emergency service personnel can sometimes go under the radar, Cranberry Township EMS, in partnership with UPMC, are making sure they are celebrated and offering training to help others.
Each year, the township’s EMS department hosts a Save-a-Life Saturday ceremony, which reunites resuscitation survivors with their rescuers and underscores the importance of community CPR training, inviting the public to attend and participate in free, hands-only CPR training.
After recently moving the event up from April to February to coincide with American Heart Month, this year’s ceremony will be held on Saturday, Feb. 15, beginning at 1 p.m. at the Cranberry Township Municipal Center, 2525 Rochester Road.
“I think what this event highlights is the importance of CPR in the chain of survival,” said Matt Nickl, the township’s executive director of EMS. “Early defibrillation and CPR are definitely the cornerstones for survival on sudden cardiac arrests outside of the hospital.”
To participate, those interested in learning CPR should show up anytime between 1 and 2:30 p.m. There’s no sign-up needed for the training.
Members of the Rotary Club of Cranberry Township – Sunrise are prepared to donate eight pediatric CPR mannequins.
“In return, we’re going to train a handful of their members in CPR, and they’re going to present the equipment to us right before the awards,” added Nickl.
Following the training, lifesaving awards will be given out to survivors and dozens of individuals who helped save a life.
Last year, the township lifted up a record eight resuscitation stories, and out of those, two survivors were in attendance.
An invitation was extended to four resuscitation survivors ahead of this year’s event, according to Nickl, but it’s unclear, as of now, if any of them will be there.
Personnel from the township’s EMS, fire and police departments — along with anyone else who had a meaningful hand in the chain of survival — all will be honored.
“We recognize everybody, so it’s not just our EMS workers,” Nickl said. “It could be EMS workers from the hospital that responded, could be firefighters, police and even rescuers who just stopped to lend a hand. We’ll recognize them as well.”
According to the American Heart Association, out-of-hospital cardiac arrest causes nearly 350,000 deaths annually in the United States.
While only 10% of those who experience one of those events survives, the American Red Cross says that immediate CPR can triple the chance of survival.
