Hamilton Health Center
Local healthcare providers are taking the initiative to make sure that infants are safe when facing life-threatening situations.
Capital Blue Cross recently donated 150 infant CPR kits to Hamilton Health Center in Harrisburg with the hopes of preventing injury and death due to choking or suffocation.
“In the frightening event of an infant suffering from cardiac arrest or having an airway blocked, prompt recognition and immediate CPR are the keys to survival,” said Susan Hubley, Capital Blue Cross vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility. “That’s why we’re so thrilled to have provided these kits to Hamilton Health Center.”
Capital Blue Cross noted that according to the American Heart Association, out-of-hospital, sudden cardiac arrest affects more than 7,000 children a year. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia reports that it accounts for 10% to 15% of sudden infant deaths, they added.
Infant CPR kit. Photo courtesy of the American Heart Association.
The kits focus on teaching CPR and choking relief for infants, from newborn to 1 year old. They come with an infant CPR manikin, 22-minute training DVD, and two “Quick-Reference Skills Reminders.”
“Many times family members and loved ones feel helpless when they are faced with someone experiencing a life-threatening emergency,” said Hamilton Health Workforce Development Manager Melisa Burnett, who provides CPR certification training. “Providing the training and skills needed to help someone in distress increases the survival rate many times over, as well as helps the rescuer feel a sense of relief.”
Hamilton Health Center is located at 110 S. 17th St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit their website.
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
