Beware of CPR class scams

CPR card scams
Be careful of cards that are made to look like American Heart Association cards. They want you to think they are official American Heart Association cards. Look carefully to make sure the card has the actual American Heart Association logo.

This is an older version of an American Heart Association
Healthcare Provider Card

This is not an American Heart Association card.
Notice how they make the card look very similar to an AHA card
The format is the same, same colors, they even make a
similar logo in the upper right corner like the AHA card

This is the current version of the American Heart Assocation BLS for Healthcare Provider card

American Heart Association cards have security features to protect against fraud. For example, the cards have highlighted areas for the name, issue date, and renewal date so the information cannot be altered once the card is printed. Each discipline is designated by a color stripe at the top edge of both sides of the card. BLS and Heartsaver are Blue, ACLS is red, and PALS and PEARS are purple. All cards with a copyright year of 2006 or later use security microprinting for the information lines. For cards produced in 2001 and later, the card name in the top bar is the repeated text. For example, the microprint on the BLS for Healthcare Provider card is "HEALTHCAREPROVIDERHEALTHCAREPROVIDER" (Figure 1).  If the card is copied, the microprint is not visible and the line simply shows up as a line.

Online only classes
Some CPR "Training Centers" want to sell you a CPR card that you can get simply by taking a course online in about an hour. Don't be fooled by these companies, even if they guarantee that their class is accepted everywhere. Check with your regulatory agency to confirm what is required before taking
a class that is only online with no hands-on skills involved. Don't believe a website just because it says they are accepted by everyone. Most regulatory agencies, especially for healthcare providers, require hands-on practice and testing, and an increasing number of medical facilities are specifically requiring American Heart Association certification. In fact, there are agencies such as the California EMS Authority that requires childcare providers to receive 8 hours of pediatric first aid including CPR and AED, and no part of it can be online. The American Heart Association offers all courses, except Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid, in an online format, but students are required to perform the skills for an AHA Instructor to receive their card. Don't get tricked into taking an ACLS or PALS course that is only online. Any agency that requires you to obtain your ACLS or PALS certification will need to to actually perform skills.
Besides, are you really learning how to do CPR or run a cardiac arrest code when you never actually perform the skills? Anyone can read a book or watch a video. You learn the skills a lot more when you actually do them. Don't sell your patients short. Get the right training so you can help them when they need it.

Random guy in the parking lot
Another dangerous way to receive your CPR card is to get it from a guy that just prints one out for you without actually taking a class. Entire groups of hospital personnel have had their cards made invalid and subsequently fired from their jobs because they got their cards from someone printing them in the parking lot for $20 at their lunch break. A proper American Heart Association course involves watching the proper AHA videos, performing the skills, testing the skills, and a written exam (if necessary). This is why every student must sign in to the course roster with their name, address, and phone number. That way each student could be contacted to make sure the class was conducted in the proper manner should questions arise in the future.

Fake American Heart Association classes
Don't be fooled by a website that says "Uses American Heart Association standards" They are not affiliated with the American Heart Association. They just use the same standards and want you to think they are official. Look for the American Heart Association logo to make sure it is an official American Heart Association training center or training site.

Don't waste your money and risk your job. Get the right training the first time. American Heart Association courses are the gold standard in Emergency Cardiovascular Care.

If you've heard of any other CPR scams, please let us know so we can add them and get the information out to everyone.

100 AEDs to be given away to worthy causes

In 2012, AED.com will be giving away 100 AEDs to worthy causes and organizations. Why? To raise awareness of the need for AEDs (automated external defibrillators) anywhere and everywhere sudden cardiac arrest can potentially strike. Unfortunately, that indeed means everywhere: home, work, on the road, public events, etc. If you happen to find yourself in a hospital or fire house, you can rest assured that someone will be there with the appropriate equipment to help you. Anywhere else and it’s a roll of the dice. After five minutes without treatment from an AED, a victim's chances of survival and recovery are dramatically reduced. At the ten-minute mark, hope is lost.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest, which strikes 1,000 people every day, doesn’t have to be fatal. However, to have that death sentence lifted, an AED must be used to restore the natural rhythm of the heart. AED.com will be giving away AEDs from all six manufacturers: Zoll Medical, Philips Healthcare, Physio-Control, Cardiac Science, Heartsine and Defibtech. We will determine which donated AED makes the most sense based on the organization’s wants and needs.

Please tell us why you or your organization needs and deserves a FREE AED from AED.com by visiting our blog. We will be giving away several AEDs every month and letting everyone know who received the AED and which one it was. AED.com hopes that these devices will help communities begin the discussion regarding how to improve the safety of their homes and places of work.

Please visit us at AED.com to learn more about AEDs and our mission.

Be CPR Smart

The American Heart Association has developed a tool to advocate CPR/AED education in schools. The AHA is working to pass state laws that will assure all students will be trained in life-saving CPR before they graduate from high school.
Check it out here
www.BeCPRSmart.org

Tell Your Member of Congress that AEDs Save Lives

The President has once again proposed eliminating funding for a life-saving program that places automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in small communities and rural areas. Last year, Congress saved this program and they can do it again, but they need to hear from you today. Ask your member of Congress to support funding for increased AED placement that will save more American lives.

Click here to send your letter to Congress

Who Should Have An AED?

This story brings to light the question of where the responsibility lies of who should have AED's in their business and who shouldn't. The simple answer is every business should have the responsibility to have an AED in their business. Of course there are cost issues with equipment, training and safety programs. Cost issues aside, should a business that only deals with the public be required to have AED's? Business's that have high potential for cardiac related events (such as sports complexes)? Should all schools be required to have AED's?

Studies are clear, early CPR with early defibrillation mean a higher survival rate from cardiac arrest. Keeping this thought in mind, ideally AED's should be readily accessible at all times to all individuals. There are programs and grants available to get them placed into schools who do not have the funds to purchase them, so why doesn't every school have them?

This ruling by the NY judge is a start in the right direction. It is time to stop being afraid of doing the right thing. Businesses have a duty to have AED's, as do schools, sporting complexes, amusement parks & shopping centers. The cost of one AED may seem like a lot, but when compared to the cost of a life, it is minimal. It is time for our society to demand everyone know CPR and how to use and AED. These two simple tools can save thousands of lives annually. Instead of continuing to foster the atmosphere that "its not my problem", its time to support the idea of "others helping others". If every high school student who graduates is required to have a CPR certification and every person who has a driver's license is also required to be certified, imagine the difference that could be made!

Gyms have duty to use AED's in NY