As part of CPR Awareness Week, AFMC sponsors hands-on training resources for Arkansas schools.
Pictured in intro image, left to right: Kelly Owen (AHA); Jeniya Maple, Devon Maples, Brandy Doss, Markevious Perkins, China Lipsey, Tyqareus Hinton (EHS Students); Bobby Luckett (EHS Principal); directly behind chair on the right, Felicia Watson (ESD Director of Student Support Services); left chair, Angela Jones (CIS Site Coordinator); and right chair, Ms. McDaniel (EHS Nurse).
As part of National CPR and AED Awareness Week, the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care (AFMC) has partnered with the American Heart Association (AHA) to donate a CPR training kit to Earle School District. This gift supports hands-on life-saving education for students, faculty, and staff in rural communities and marks the first of three planned donations across the state.
Check out the delivery day photo from Earle School District—one of the first Arkansas districts to benefit from this hands-on training.
June 1–7 is National CPR and AED Awareness Week, formed in 2007 by the AHA in coalition with the American Red Cross and the National Safety Council. This event spotlights life-saving techniques for those experiencing a cardiac event outside the hospital. Over 350,000 individuals in the U.S. suffer cardiac arrests at home or other locations outside of the hospital. Only 10% survive such an event. Early CPR intervention is key to improving a person’s chances of survival during a cardiac arrest. AFMC remains committed to enhancing access to healthcare and improving statewide preventive education. This partnership with AHA enables schools in rural communities to learn vital skills to prepare them for intervention during a cardiac emergency. Each CPR training kit includes manikins, AEDs, digital training videos, and a binder for lessons and pre- and post-test activities.
Arkansas is one of six states that have added CPR training as a graduation requirement. Middle and high school students must now take at least one CPR and AED training course while at school so they can confidently and responsibly intervene if called upon during an emergency.
Imagine a student in Earle being the one to save a life someday thanks to the techniques they learned using this very kit.
Each kit includes Mini Anne manikins, an AED kit, CPR and First Aid booklets, an air pump, and a binder of lesson plans and strategies.
Two more Arkansas school districts will receive a CPR kit in the coming weeks as part of this program.
By implementing programs like this nationwide, the AHA hopes to double the survival rate from cardiac emergencies by 2030. The goal is to turn bystanders into active responders, giving them the skills and confidence to know what to do when someone experiences a cardiac arrest.
