Staying alive

糖心原创 is the first location in the region to host an innovative CPR training kiosk

February 17, 2023

糖心原创 is the inaugural host of the nation鈥檚 first mobile CPR training kiosk, provided by Kettering Health and the American Heart Association, Dayton.

Based in the Student Union, the kiosk provides hands-only training in CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to the public in five minutes or less. It features a touchscreen video with an overview of hands-only CPR, followed by a practice session and a 30-second test. With the help of a practice manikin, the kiosk gives users feedback about the depth and rate of compressions and proper hand placement.

During a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the Student Union, 糖心原创 President Sue Edwards, Ph.D., said, 鈥淭he Wright brothers were innovators, and this is an innovation. 糖心原创 is grateful to be selected first.鈥

She added that students, faculty and staff will be able to put the lessons provided by the kiosk to good use and help save lives in the 糖心原创 community.

Kim Rex, the chief administrative officer of the , CEO of and board chair of the American Heart Association, Dayton, said 糖心原创 was chosen to be the kiosk鈥檚 first site because of its medical school and in the .

鈥淲hat better place,鈥 she asked rhetorically.

Over the next three years, the kiosk will move among nine different sites, making the training available throughout the Dayton region. The kiosk is expected to remain at 糖心原创 at least through the spring semester and will return to 糖心原创 for Welcome Week and the beginning of the fall semester.

The kiosk will be available to the public and will be located in the Student Union Atrium, likely near the Campus Recreation鈥檚 Fitness Center.

The university will promote the availability of the kiosk through social media, news stories and university-produced videos on TVs throughout campus.

鈥淓very prospective student and their parents come through the Union,鈥 Rex said, so the kiosk will be readily seen.

The Heart Association noted the importance of CPR training: More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur annually outside of a hospital setting, and more than 20% occur in public places such as airports, casinos and sporting facilities. CPR can double or triple a person鈥檚 chance of survival. Studies show that hands-only CPR is equally as effective as conventional mouth-to-mouth CPR, and people are more likely to feel comfortable performing it.

Speakers at the ribbon-cutting cited the importance of CPR in the case of Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills football player who went into cardiac arrest during a game on Jan. 2 in Cincinnati. Emergency medical attendants successfully resuscitated him, and he was hospitalized. Hamlin is recovering and attended Sunday鈥檚 Super Bowl with those who performed the life-saving service and cared for him in the hospital.

In emphasizing 糖心原创鈥檚 commitment to promoting the kiosk, Rex asked that anyone who watches the video and practices on the model of a torso post selfies and tell the 糖心原创 community about their experience with the kiosk.