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Over a thousand local students will train in one day at Four Winds Field to save lives

Mass training initiative designed to improve St. Joseph County's survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest
August 17, 2017

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Andrew T. Berlin and the executive team for the South Bend Cubs will host an event to train over a thousand local students from South Bend Community School Corporation and School City of Mishawaka in the life-saving technique of hands-only CPR. The idea, led by enFocus and

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Andrew T. Berlin and the executive team for the South Bend Cubs will host an event to train over a thousand local students from South Bend Community School Corporation and School City of Mishawaka in the life-saving technique of hands-only CPR. The idea, led by enFocus and a volunteer task force, began as one of several strategies intended to improve survival outcomes from sudden cardiac arrest in the community. The region's first CPR mass training event is sponsored by the South Bend Cubs, Saint Joseph Health System, Beacon Health System, IOI Payroll Services, the University of Notre Dame and other anonymous donors. Volunteers and support have been provided by Fire Departments across the county, Indiana University South Bend, Saint Mary's College, Papa Vino's Italian Kitchen, Unity Medical & Surgical Hospital, and the American Heart Association. With the assistance of 200 volunteers, the mass training will take place on Four Winds Field in South Bend from 9 a.m. till 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 27. 
"This training will have an immediate impact by educating our students and empowering them to teach others" said Dale Lobo, Senior Fellow and Project Manager for enFocus. "We've been planning this for a long time, and as of the afternoon of September 27th, there will be 1,600 more people throughout the community trained to save lives. All 1,600 students will be given a training kit, complete with inflatable manikin and an instructional DVD that they can use to train their own family and friends. We know that greater bystander intervention is correlated with increased survival. In conjunction with our other initiatives, by training an additional 10% of the population in the next 3-5 years, we anticipate an increase in bystander intervention and survival from sudden cardiac arrest."
"We knew immediately this would be good for everyone in St. Joseph County," said Joe Hart, President of the South Bend Cubs. "And this is a perfect place to do something of this magnitude. We have parking for school buses; the training video can be shown on our giant video screen; and we're used to hosting thousands of people every day. We're happy to be part of something that will impact our community for years to come."
"The national survival rate for victims of sudden cardiac arrest is only 10%," added Lobo. "It's a sobering statistic. But here in St. Joseph County, the survival rate is even lower at only 5%. By training so many people in CPR all at once, we can make a big difference right away. And that difference will continue to grow as kids teach other people how to do it."
More than 1,600 8th graders from Mishawaka and South Bend will arrive at Four Winds Field in 30-40 buses. The training, which takes place on the playing field, will be supplemented with information on how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) and testimonies from survivors.
Media are invited to attend. For more information please visit www.savealifesjc.org.

About enFocus
Founded in 2012, enFocus is a local non-profit that brings together recent college graduates with organizations in need of fresh energy, innovative solutions and creative collaboration. Fellows are paired with community volunteers, business owners and political leaders who provide mentorship and guidance. With a board of mentors, advisors and successful entrepreneurs, enFocus creates a culture in which entrepreneurship is "caught" as well as taught. Fellows receive preparation for success in a diverse array of industries and fields. Their talents and gifts are helping to reshape northern Indiana as an innovative community. More information is available at www.sbenfocus.org.

About the South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs are the Class A minor league affiliate of the World Series Champion Chicago Cubs. Over the past 29 seasons, the team has won five Midwest League titles, most recently in 2005, and has captured 12 division titles. In 2015 the team was named Ballpark Digest's Team of the Year and received the John H. Johnson President's Award, the highest award in minor league baseball. In June 2017, Four Winds Field, home of the South Bend Cubs, was voted Best Class A ballpark in the country by Ballpark Digest. The team is owned and operated by Swing-Batter-Swing, LLC whose principal shareholder is Andrew T. Berlin of Chicago, Ill.