Be a Hero: Learn Hands-Only CPR Sunday in 15 Minutes

Here's the deal: Take 15 minutes out of your life on Sunday to learn how to save a life.

That's all the Darien YMCA and Post 53-Darien EMS is asking because that's as long as it takes to learn how to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), the procedure you use when someone's having a heart attack or cardiac arrest. And its free. And it's open to children as well as adults.

(OK, it will take a little longer -- you'll need to drive or otherwise get yourself over to the Darien YMCA at 2420 Post Rd. And -- who knows? -- you may have to wait a bit to get into a class.)

The result could be a life-saver for someone you know or even a stranger if that person needs CPR and you know how to provide it. It could be a matter of life or death. And they aren't teaching mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, it's "hands-only CPR."

The "Darien Hands for Life" event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday at the Darien YMCA. You could go right after church. If you don't go to church, why not start the morning off by learning how to save a life?

How likely is it that you may come across someone with a heart attack? Here's what the Darien Y says in a news release:

"Each year, nearly 785,000 Americans suffer from a heart attack.  Nearly 300,000 of these people suffer sudden cardiac arrest at the time of their heart attack, outside of a hospital setting.  Less than one in four receive CPR from a bystander, and only about 5% of cardiac arrest victims survive. 

"Studies show that survival rates fall 10 percent each minute without CPR before emergency medical assistance, often with a fatal outcome.  If more people knew how to provide effective, simple-to-apply Hands-Only CPR, more victims could be helped, doubling or even tripling their chances of survival."

How qualified is Post 53-Darien EMS to teach CPR? Well, the organization has been doing it for decades and (from the news release):

"Darien EMS-Post 53 is an American Heart Association training center providing basic life support training including: Heartsaver CPR/AED, Heartsaver First Aid CPR/AED, Healthcare Provider, the family and friends program, and Hands only CPR training.  If you need more advanced CPR training, please contact Post Members Bridget Hannigan or Caroline Nelson at post53cprcoordinators@gmail.com.

"Founded in 1970, Post 53 provides emergency medical services to the Darien community at the highest level of excellence, using Darien High School students and adult volunteers.  The members of Post 53 are committed to achieving and maintaining the highest level of training and skill in providing pre-hospital care and transport to the citizens of Darien.  Post 53 is recognized locally and nationally as one of the finest emergency ambulance services in the United States, for its consistently high quality of pre-hospital emergency care."

Need more information? It's online.