Courses

This course is designed for the lay public. It covers adult prudent heart living, risk factors, heart attack signals and actions, and stroke information; as well as, appropriate actions to take for a victim of adult cardiac arrest or foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO). Hands-on manikin practice is a requirement of the course. This means that all students have an opportunity for skills practice under instructor supervision.

This course is designed for the first responder. It represents a key strategy for improving the first two links in the chain of survival; early access to 9-1-1 and early CPR. The course covers recognition of a heart attack and stroke, EMS system activation, use of recovery position, rescue breathing, breathing, management of foreign body airway obstruction (FBAO). (CRP and FBAO [Module 1]) and the use of barrier devices (Module 4). Instructors/course directors may add other BLS modules, as they deem appropriate for the audience, including pediatric CPR/FBAO (Module 2). Automated external defibrillation should be explained in all BLS courses, but demonstrations are not necessary in Heartsaver Plus classes.

“Hands-on” manikin practice must also be provided in all Heartsaver Plus courses. This means that all students have an opportunity for skills practice under supervision of an instructor. Heartsaver Plus course instructors will provide students with ongoing feedback during manikin practice. Mentoring and remediation of students should occur throughout the course when skills and knowledge are lacking. For the written evaluation, the National ECC Committee has selected a score of less than 84% to be indicative of the need for remediation. Students who score less than 84% on the written evaluation should be remediated until they can attain a score greater than 84%. Course completion cards should not be issued until the instructor judges both written and psychomotor skills adequate.

This course is designed for the lay public or emergency care providers where public AEDs may be in use. This course was designed to improve rates of survival from sudden cardiac arrest by strengthening the early access, early CPR and early defibrillation links in the Chain of Survival in every community. Heartsaver AED teaches the importance of calling 9-1-1, improved CPR skills and the use of AEDs by witnesses to the arrest. Heartsaver AED’s goal is to shorten the interval from collapse of a cardiac arrest victim to the start of CPR and defibrillation.

The Heartsaver AED course contains multiple teaching innovations: a low student-to-instructor ratio, a low student-to-manikin/AED ratio (4:1), motivational watch-then-practice videos, and role-playing scenarios. It requires a skills evaluation by completing a skills demonstration of CPR, and the use of the AED.

This course is designed for the lay public and covers how to resuscitate an infant and/or child (Module 2). This course also includes injury prevention information. It is recommended that both infant and child CPR and FBAO techniques be taught because students may not readily return to a CPR course, and the infant quickly becomes a child.

This course is designed for day-care provider who require a written evaluation and a course completion card. It covers how to resuscitate an infant and/or child (Module 2), FBAO techniques, CPR techniques, and injury prevention information. This course includes information about face shields and barrier devices during CPR.

“Hands-on” manikin practice must also be provided in all Pediatric Basic Cardiac Life Support (PBLS) Plus courses. This means that all students have an opportunity for skills practice under supervision of an instructor. PBLS Plus course instructors will provide students with ongoing feedback during manikin practice. Mentoring and remediation of students should occur throughout the course when skills and knowledge are lacking. For the written evaluation, the National ECC Committee has selected a score of less than 84% to be indicative of the need for remediation. Students who score less than 84% on the written evaluation should be remediated until they can attain a score greater than 84%. Course completion cards should not be issued until the instructor judges both written and psychomotor skills adequate.

This course is designed for the professional healthcare provider, (e.g. emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses, and physicians) but may be modified for day-care workers, lifeguards, and other non-healthcare professionals whose job responsibilities require that they respond in an emergency. The Healthcare Provider course includes information on using equipment not readily available to the general public. However, the course may be modified slightly to focus on those modules that best address the needs of the students. The Healthcare Provider course includes Module 1: Adult One-Rescuer CPR and FBAO; Module 2: Pediatric One-Rescuer CPR and FBAO; Module 3: Adult Two-Rescuer CPR; Module 4: Barrier Devices; and Module 5: Automatic External Defibrillation (AED). Emphasis should be placed on those modules that best suit the needs of students, but all modules except Module 5, which is optional, must be presented.

Persons whose jobs require them to respond in an emergency and whose employers wish them to be formally evaluated with a written evaluation and skills monitoring should be directed to the Healthcare Provider course.

Day-care workers should take a Healthcare Provider course that covers the PBLS textbook, with emphasis on pediatric health and safety, as well as CPR and resuscitation. However, some time should be spent on adult CPR and FBAO for the day-care provider, because parents and other day-care providers may require resuscitation as well.

“Hands-on” manikin practice must also be provided in all Healthcare Provider courses. This means that all students have an opportunity for skills practice under supervision of an instructor. Healthcare Provider course instructors will provide students with ongoing feedback during manikin practice. Mentoring and remediation of students should occur throughout the course when skills and knowledge are lacking. For the written evaluation, the National ECC Committee has selected a score of less than 84% to be indicative of the need for remediation. Students who score less than 84% on the written evaluation should be remediated until they can attain a score greater than 84%. Course completion cards should not be issued until the instructor judges both written and psychomotor skills adequate.

The AHA Instructor course is designed to teach the skills necessary to instruct others in resuscitation skills and knowledge. The instructor plays an important role in the strength of the Chain of Survival.

The Heartsaver FACTS course was developed by the AHA and the NSC to meet a specific need: the widespread demand for a course that integrates CPR, defibrillation, and first aid for lay rescuers. The Heartsaver FACTS course contains multiple teaching innovations: a low student-to-instructor ratio, a low student-to-manikin/AED ratio (4:1), motivational watch-then-practice videos, and role-playing scenarios.

The Heartsaver FACTS course covers performance of adult CPR and FBAO, face shields and barrier devices, the use of AEDs, assessment of an ill or injured victim, care and bandaging wounds and controlling bleeding, immobilizing muscle, bone or joint injuries.

Successful completion of the Heartsaver FACTS program requires a written evaluation with a score of at least 85% on each of the two 20-question, multiple-choice written evaluations (one for Heartsaver AED and one for First Aid). It also requires a skills evaluation by completing a skills demonstration of CPR, use of the AED, victim assessment, bleeding control, and immobilization. Students who meet these objectives will receive a Heartsaver FACTS course completion card.

First Aid in the Workplace: What to do in the First Five Minutes This course is a complete first aid program which focuses on the basics. This programs is designed to teach an individual to provide basic emergency care in the first few minutes of an emergency. This program topics cover scene safety, universal precautions, primary and secondary survey, treatment for shock, what to do for medical emergencies and traumatic injuries.