A free CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) class, including infant CPR, has been organized in response to a story in last week’s Times describing the near-drowning death of 1-year-old Jayden Moody (“Rescuers resuscitate toddler after submersion in bathtub,” Oct 17 Times). The toddler was saved by Ozark County first responders – and medical teams with Ozark County Ambulance and two area hospitals.
The CPR class will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at The Center in Gainesville. Classes usually last about four hours. Ozark County Ambulance District administrator Stacy Raney has set up the class in consultation with Ozark County Emergency Manager Stephen Ator. Air Evac has agreed to supply instructors who will provide the training.
The class is free, but reservations are necessary to ensure that an adequate number of instructors are present with training mannequins. To add your name and phone number to the list, contact the Ozark County Times by phone (417-679-4641) or email (sueann@ozarkcountytimes.com).
The cut-off date for signing up is Nov. 8. After that date, instructors, coming from outside the county, will be assigned.
Please note that this class will provide complete training, but it is not a certification class. Ator is organizing another CPR class that will offer certification for those working in the medical or emergency medical services field who need certification for their jobs – or for other residents who want to be CPR-certified. Ator is meeting Nov. 14 with Ozark County fire chiefs and will determine then how many of their volunteers want to be certified; the class will be organized after that meeting. Information about the certification class will be provided in upcoming editions of the Times.