American Heart Association teaches CPR in Champaign to celebrate 100 years

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) — The American Heart Association celebrated 100 years of work in Champaign-Urbana at the I-Hotel on Wednesday. The event was capped off with hands-on CPR training.

It can take just a couple minutes of chest compressions to save someone’s life if they’re in trouble — but not everyone knows how to start. Now, many are trying to become part of the solution.

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“In the Midwest, we are a microcosm of the most urban and the most rural. In both of those spaces, your 911 response rate may be longer,” said Yolana Wakefield-Wilson, Business Development Manager for Community CPR. “People need to be trained in a space. Champaign probably has both, where they know to do compressions, they know to start CPR until that help arrives.”

What if there’s an emergency you don’t know CPR? Wakefield-Wilson said to remember these three things: call 911, push hard and fast in the center of the chest, and don’t delay.

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