A total of 1,375 central New Jersey residents received basic training in potentially lifesaving fundamentals during Penn Medicine Princeton Health’s 10th annual Free CPR Week, which actually filled two weeks before wrapping up in mid-April.
CPR instructors from Princeton Health provided 68 free classes at Princeton Health locations as well as other settings in Mercer and Middlesex counties such as libraries, schools, senior centers, municipal buildings, and residential communities.
The classes featured Family & Friends CPR, a course that covers CPR and how to assist someone who is choking. There are two separate curricula: one to provide care for children and adults and a second for infants up to 1-year-old. Princeton Health provides Family & Friends CPR year-round for a nominal fee. The free classes in April began 10 years ago in an effort to raise awareness of the importance of learning CPR.
More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of hospital settings each year, according to the American Heart Association (AHA), and immediate, effective CPR greatly increases one’s chance of survival.