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Thousands of Local Children to Learn Life Saving CPR at Four Winds Field

Mass training initiative designed to improve St. Joseph County's survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest
October 2, 2018

SOUTH BEND, IN - For the second year in a row, the South Bend Cubs will host a CPR Training Event with over a thousand local children participating from South Bend Community School Corporation and School City of Mishawaka at Four Winds Field. This event is the largest in the

SOUTH BEND, IN - For the second year in a row, the South Bend Cubs will host a CPR Training Event with over a thousand local children participating from South Bend Community School Corporation and School City of Mishawaka at Four Winds Field. This event is the largest in the region.

Students will be given training in Hands-Only CPR by area EMS, fire, police, and medical personnel. Each student will be given their own CPR Anytime training kit complete with an inflatable manikin and DVD with instructions in CPR. Students will be encouraged to take home their kits and train friends and family using the DVD. While at the training they will also hear speeches from local community leaders and testimonies from area sudden cardiac arrest survivors.  
The event is coordinated by enFocus, a local nonprofit, and the Out-Of-Hospital-Cardiac-Arrest (OHCA) Task Force to drive home the importance of prompt bystander intervention for victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). Research indicates that hands-only CPR can significantly increase the likelihood of survival of such an event. The national average for survival is only about 10% and in 2015 in Saint Joseph County it was only 5%. 
"We are honored to host this event again in conjunction with enFocus," said South Bend Cubs President Joe Hart. "The amount of space Four Winds Field has, gives us the flexibility to host such a large number of students. Our hope is that the students trained at this event will then train their friends and family." 
This is not a public event, but media representatives are welcome. South Bend Schools will be trained during the morning session (10:30am - 12:00pm) and Mishawaka and Catholic schools will be trained in the afternoon session (1:00pm - 2:30pm). In the event of inclement weather, the event will be postponed until Tuesday, October 16. Additional information can be found at www.savealifesjc.org.Additional information can be found at SaveALifeSJC.org