FISHERVILLE, Va. (WHSV) – In partnership with the Staunton-Augusta-Waynesboro Regional Activity Response Team (CERT), the Augusta Health Department is offering a basic emergency response course to help individuals prepare for the worst. .
Emergencies can range from heart attack, suffocation, or weather-related disasters. Regardless of the situation, emergency responders are trained to help people as quickly as possible. However, depending on your region, the response time may not be fast enough. When a large-scale local disaster occurs, emergency responders are spread out and may not be able to help everyone in need. This requires training of community members.
From March 7 to April 25, 2024, Augusta Health will provide community members with an opportunity to provide hands-on learning experiences to understand the nature of emergencies and how to best respond to them. These emergencies include, but are not limited to:
- Whether the fire is large or small.
- Medical emergencies such as heart attack and stabilization first aid.
- and response to natural disasters such as tornadoes.
Jonathan Knotts, crisis management coordinator at Augusta Health, said the skills people learn through this course could be critical to saving an emergency.
“It's like basic first aid. Knowing what to do at this time can save lives,” Knotts said. “You can help improve someone else’s outcomes.”
Emergency personnel are the first to respond to a scene, and the speed at which they arrive can have a significant impact on a person's survival. According to the American Heart Association, immediate CPR can double or triple a person's chances of surviving cardiac arrest.
“If you need to pull resources and delegate them to specific areas, [first responders] It’s not going to go anywhere,” Knotts said.
This class is primarily for adults. However, youth admission is done on a case-by-case basis. Knotts said these are important conversations to have with families, especially children, because the more people understand emergency safety and management, the better the outcome for the whole family. He also said the scope of this class is to help the entire community.
“The focus of this is to enable individual citizens to take care of themselves and their immediate homes,” Knotts said. “It also helps you see how your neighbors are doing. This helps free up resources within your community.”
The care that Knotts and his team teach during the course is not a substitute for professional care. Rather, it helps reduce the risk of serious injury or death and ensures a healthy lifetime for people, regardless of the situation.
“Providing first aid can help prolong a person's life until they can receive the advanced care they need,” Knotts says.
If you are interested and would like to enroll in the course, please click the link here.
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