On Tuesday April 15th the Take Heart St. Cloud Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survival Initiative (THSC) taught CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation) and AED (automated external defibrillator) skills to a group of approximately 30 St. Francis Xavier members and community residents. The session was hosted by St. Francis Xavier of Sartell and the session was held in the St. Francis Gathering Place. Each participant paid a nominal fee of $10.00 and received an American Heart Association Family and Friends CPR Training Kit. The kit contains an inflatable manikin, a training DVD and a training booklet. Each participant was asked, upon completion of their training, to train three members of their families and friends.

This is the third Take Heart St. Cloud CPR session hosted by the St. Francis Xavier Parish. The sessions were taught by Take Heart St. Cloud instructors Jo Deter, Kelijo Fernholz and Renee Illies. Instructor, Jo Deter, stated that “Learning CPR is the most unselfish thing one can do; it isn’t something you will ever do on yourself.” Also in attendance were Bob Kempenich and Michael Hengel; both are Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) survivors and members of the THSC SCA Survivor’s Network. Bob experienced Sudden Cardiac Arrest in December of 2005 and was given CPR by two strangers who happened to be near him when he collapsed. He commented “I’m here today because people like you took the time to learn CPR.”

Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the #1 killer of men and women in this country. Approximately 1000 people die everyday; over 350,000 people die each year. Approximately 80% of these deaths happen in people’s homes; only 15% of these people receive immediate CPR from family or friends. The intention of the Take Heart St. Cloud project is to train the general public to recognize when to use CPR and how to use an AED. By increasing the number of people who know how to perform CPR and use an AED it is believed that CPR can be initiated immediately by friends and family members, while waiting for the emergency people to arrive. The sooner CPR begins the better a person’s chance is of surviving.

Take Heart St. Cloud, is part of the nation-wide Take Heart America program. The project aims to increase the survival rate of sudden cardiac arrest through community-wide CPR/AED training, distribution of new technology and implementation of new in-hospital treatments. St. Cloud is among only four communities in the country that have been selected to implement the program. This initiative is being funded through the CentraCare Health Foundation,Central MNHeart Center, the Medtronic Heart Rescue program, the St. Jude Medical Foundation and the Boston Scientific Foundation.

“It’s time for a new approach to saving the lives of people who experience Sudden Cardiac Arrest,” says Janet Steinkamp, St. Cloud Site Director. “We need to be ready to perform CPR on our fellow community members; their lives may depend on us.”

Take Heart St. Cloud brings doctors, nurses, paramedics, community leaders and community members together in a new project designed to dramatically increase the number of people who survive. The training goal of Take Heart St. Cloud is to train 25% of the 160,000 people in the Gold Cross Ambulance service area – that’s 40,000 people. With the help of the American Heart Association’s Family and Friends CPR Training kit, and individuals teaching their family and friends, this goal will easily be accomplished. Widespread CPR training plays a critical role in reducing deaths from cardiac arrest.

This class was sponsored by the St. Francis Xavier Health and Wellness Committee of Sister Cordelia Korkowski, OSF Pastoral Minister, Karen Reinholz, Jackie McCann, Deb Carey, Chuck and Sharon Kalkman, Bob Barret, Deacon Steve Yanish, Val Jefferson, Mary Mader, Wendi Johnson and Marilyn Ross.