By Franka Potter
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training became more readily available to Brandon and neighboring residents when Vital Life Savers opened its doors in March 2019. Co-owner Deborah Awolowo saw a need within the community for CPR training and as a medical provider decided to help meet that need.
Awolowo mentioned that, as part of her medical license requirements, CPR training is mandatory; however, when she was a CPR student, she felt the course was rushed and students were not required to perform hands-on compression on manikins.
She stated, “I believe that everyone who takes a CPR course should actually perform compressions on manikins so they can understand how challenging it could be.”
The mission of Vital Life Savers is to educate the community on the importance of performing CPR correctly and safely. It certifies individuals within various industries such as healthcare, food service, childcare and education. It utilizes manikins with feedback devices to ensure that students give high-quality chest compressions with real-time feedback on depth and rate.
Awolowo also stated that, “Vital Life Savers makes learning CPR easy and fun. Our courses are taught by people in the medical field. We especially encourage new parents, grandparents and babysitters to learn how to perform CPR on infants. CPR is performed differently on infants than on a child or an adult. We offer classes six days a week.”
Vital Life Savers is staffed with a team of eight who are all certified with the American Heart Association (AHA), American Red Cross (ARC) and American Health & Safety Institute (ASHI). They also provide certification in Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Life Support (PALS). Students who complete the CPR course with Vital Life Savers will also be certified with AHA, ARC and ASHI.
Classes are kept small to ensure students receive the one-on-one attention needed and to provide a comfortable and nonintimidating learning environment.
Visit Vital Life Savers at 644 E. Bloomingdale Ave. in Brandon or go to www.vital-heart.com. You can also give it a call at 333-0666 to make an appointment. Hours of operation are Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
