Harrington Celebrates CPR Awareness Week with Hands-only Demonstrations

SOUTHBRIDGE — Harrington HealthCare System will celebrate National CPR Awareness Week June 1-7 by emphasizing the importance of hands-only CPR.

According to the American Heart Assoc., 90{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} of people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests die. If you are called on to give CPR in an emergency, you will most likely be trying to save the life of someone you care about: a spouse, parent, child, friend, or co-worker.

Hands-only CPR is a simple, two-step process that can double or triple a cardiac victim’s chance of survival. Essentially, the first step is to call 911, and the second step is to push hard and fast in the center of the chest.

“Cardiac arrests are more common than people think, and they can happen to anyone at any time,” said Jon Gorman, Harrington HealthCare CPR instructor. “Taking 60 seconds to learn the important steps to saving a life is something everyone should do.”

Free hands-only CPR demonstrations will be offered on June 2 and June 4 from 8 a.m. to noon in the Harrington Hospital main lobby, 100 South St., Southbridge.

Harrington also offers many adult and pediatric certification classes throughout the year in Southbridge and Webster. Individuals can sign up online by visiting www.harringtonhospital.org. E-mail jgorman@harringtonhospital.org or call (508) 765-2296 with event questions.