Follow-up, June 11:

Almost 7,000 Los Angeles County residents learned Hands-Only CPR during free training held across Southern California on June 4 during National CPR Week. This is a 33.9 percent increase over last year’s count of 5,200, according to the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency, which coordinated the one-day training effort with the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the American Heart Association (AHA).

The training took place at more than 80 locations across L.A. County, as local fire departments, ambulance companies, hospitals and nursing programs provided CPR trainers at shopping malls, grocery stores, home improvement stores, hospitals, community centers, colleges and other locations.

“Sidewalk CPR sends a powerful message of what can be done in a single day when people work together,” said Cathy Chidester, director of the Los Angeles County EMS Agency.  An additional 7,463 residents from San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Kern, Ventura, Riverside, Orange, San Diego, and other neighboring counties were also trained, for an overall total of 14,424 people now CPR-trained due to this single day event.

“It’s remarkable how many communities across the County joined to increase the number of lifesavers,” said Nerses Sanossian, MD, board president, American Heart Association Greater Los Angeles Division. “Imagine how many lives may be saved by empowering nearly 7,000 people with the skills to perform CPR.”

“When someone has a heart attack, the first few minutes are critical,” says Los Angeles County Fire Chief Osby. “Most bystanders are not sure what to do.  Well, on Sidewalk CPR Day, we taught them what to do.”

Hands Only CPR is different from conventional “mouth-to-mouth” CPR, and anyone can learn how to do it.  The Sidewalk CPR program is designed to give people basic skills to save that family member, friend, or person in need. If it is provided immediately after sudden cardiac arrest, it can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival until emergency responders arrive. To learn Hands-Only CPR, visit http://www.heart.org/handsonlycpr to watch an instructional video and share it with the important people in your life.

Original story:

Learn hands-only CPR in just 10 minutes on “Sidewalk CPR” Day, Tuesday, June 4, from 10 a.m. to noon at two locations in the Santa Clarita Valley (two of 80 across Los Angeles County).

Your county firefighters and lifeguards will be offering FREE training. No appointment is necessary; just show up and learn how to save your loved ones.

The SCV locations are:

Lowe’s, 19001 Golden Valley Road, Canyon Country.

WalMart, 27931 Kelly Johnson Pkwy., Santa Clarita.