Get Educated

Here's a great opportunity for anyone in Milwaukeee to learn Hands-Only CPR - there are still two training opportunities available!

Click here for more information and to sign up for a training!

By the end of 2013, 6,000 Milwaukee residents will be turned into lifesavers at Learn Hands-Only CPR Milwaukee thanks to a grant awarded by the American Heart Association and Cities of Service, a bipartisan coalition of more than 150 mayors who have committed to using service to address pressing local needs. 

The City of Milwaukee has been given 1,000 Family and Friends CPR Anytime^® Kits as part of a 3 year, $4.5 million grant from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation. 

The Office of Mayor Barrett is working with the Milwaukee Fire Department, Milwaukee County EMS and the local American Heart Association to train 1,000 individuals in Hands-Only CPR^TM at various sites throughout the city. These individuals will each pledge to train five other residents this year using the provided training kit.

About the Training:

• The training takes about 25 minutes. 
• Participants will need to be able to inflate their own mannequin and kneel on the ground.
• Each person who registers will receive a free CPR Anytime kit to take with them when they complete the training.
• Each participant agrees to use their kit to train at least 5 additional people.  Family, friends, neighbors or coworkers.
• Kits contain all materials in English and Spanish, however not all training event will have Spanish instructors.

Here's a great new resource for you to check out!  You can visit http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/, click your state and then see where your county stacks up against others when looking at morbidity or mortality, or numerous different health factors.  Do you live in one of the healthies counties or one of the least healthy?  No matter where you land, you can always visit our AHA Action Center and contact your lawmakers about making your state a healthier place to live, work and play!

As advocates we spend a lot of our time and energy trying to inform lawmakers about issues to make our state and nation a healthier place for its citizens.  It is also important for us to keep ourselves and those we know and love educated about our issues and other items that can also make a positive impact on our health.

Today, we have two things that we would like to share with you, our advocacy network, to make you better informed.  If it is information you already know what we share can be a refresher, or would be great to share with your family and friends!

Hands-Only CPR can save lives. Most people who experience cardiac arrest at home, work or in a public location die because they don’t receive immediate CPR from someone on the scene.  As a bystander, don’t be afraid. Your actions can only help.  Watch this one minute online demonstration of Hands-Only CPR to learn how you can be prepared to save a life!

Learn the difference between cardiac arrest and a heart attack.  People often use these terms interchangeably, but they are not the same.  Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death.  Nearly 360,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur annually in the United States.  Check out this infographic to learn even more.

While you are taking a few minutes to educate yourself with these lifesaving facts, take a few minutes to let your members of Congress know that AEDS save lives.  Spreading our knowledge will help save lifes!  Ask your member of Congress to support funding for increased AED placement that will save more American lives.

Learn how mandatory critical congenital heart defect screening for all newborns using pulse oximetry can help save lives. 

Find all of AHA's Policy Position statements on various issues with this "at-a-glance" report entitled the Policy Report.

Learn about the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that are helping heart and stroke patients access and afford the quality health care they need.

Today, the American Heart Association released preliminary results of a survey analysis regarding Physical Education (PE) in all New York City schools.  Every school, in all five boroughs was invited to participate and the American Heart Association secured responses from 272!  More than half of these schools are not in compliance with NY state standards for physical education.  And the American Heart Association maintains that these standards are not strong enough!  While the results are compelling, this is just one step in our goal to improve PE for every student.  You can review the report which is attached here...and to help share the results with City Council Members, be sure to visit our Action Center tab on the You're the Cure website.  It's time we stopped ignoring the 800 lb. gorilla in NYC and get him to slim down!

Please click on the following link to review the report:

https://media.gractions.com/F410DC9E068B98B88EA0B5C54D6885F750D9D0A3/2850366f-07e8-4da8-a7ba-ff6d1b687975.pdf

If you would like to help us on this issue, please comment or email me at robin.vitale@heart.org.

We are quickly closing in on National Wear Red  Day, this year arriving on Friday, February 1st. 2013’s Wear Red Day  marks the 10th anniversary and more than 627,000 women’s lives have been saved, thanks to the collective energy, passion, time, money and HEART of the 25 million Americans who have supported this movement.

But the fight is far from over.

Check out this very important video and spread the word about Wear Red Day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3akdaWhmOc

See which Members of Congress put their support in writing by urging Congressional leadership to protect the National Institutes of Health from budget cuts.

Read the news release about the Illinois EMS Alliance, a fast-growing coalition of EMS providers and stakeholders from across the state that support increased resources and smart reforms for EMS.  Formed in November of 2012, the Alliance will work to support action on recommendations made in the Illinois House Task EMS Force Report, and will help legislators chart a sustainable path forward for EMS in Illinois.