With the success of its recent CPR classes, the POA Public Safety and Wellness Collaborative partnership is expanding to offer a series of emergency preparedness courses for 2024. Every quarter, these three different classes will be offered to help prepare Property Owners and their guests for a range of emergency scenarios.
Starting in 2024, the following classes are available at the Fire Station at 9 a.m.:
Stop the Bleed, Thursday, Jan. 25 – Learn three quick techniques to help save a life before someone bleeds out. Registered paramedic and veteran firefighter David Miller will provide instruction on how to address life-threatening bleeding that could happen to individuals injured in an accident or disaster. Cost: $35.
CPR, Thursday, Feb. 8 – Learn emergency lifesaving procedures and how to use the automated external defibrillator. Taught by Capt. Chip Rice. Cost: $45; Wellness Collaborative will reimburse $25 to the participants after they have completed the course.
First Aid, Tuesday, March 12 – Learn basic first-aid skills for medical, traumatic and environmental emergencies or injuries. Taught by Capt. Chip Rice. Cost: $45.
When the CPR classes were launched in January, Capt. Rice detailed the need to have members of the community trained to immediately address emergencies. Not all of Big Canoe is easily accessible when a Public Safety team member is needed, so emergency preparedness instruction can be the difference between life and death, Capt. Rice says.
“When you have folks who do good quality CPR or are trained to provide the sort of first aid that’s needed right away on the spot, it really can help to save lives,” Capt. Rice explains.
Since the partnership’s first CPR class in January 2023, more than 126 people in Big Canoe have been certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
When someone needs CPR or some form of first aid, having an individual trained in basic emergency preparedness dramatically increases the survival rates, he added.
“Having these classes with the Wellness Collaborative will continue to help ensure the safety of everyone in Big Canoe,” Capt. Rice says.
To register for the upcoming classes, email groups.bigcanoewc@gmail.com. Please select the class that interests you along with a lot number, 911 address, phone number and email address.