Campus Wellness is welcoming the American Heart Association to host a hands-only CPR mobile training event on Oct. 16th. The event will take place between the recreational center and student center outside. However, if the weather does not cooperate, it will be moved on the first gym court inside the rec center.

The event is open to AU students, faculty and community members, and it is free to participate. Ashland is one of the three locations chosen for this event, as Columbus and Akron will be hosting the AHA mobile tour as well.

Dr. Deborah Sullivan, director of campus wellness at Ashland encourages everyone to attend. The event will just take 30 minutes of your time on the hour, to learn the hands only method.

The times offered range from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m., and if you are one of the first 250 people there, you will receive a CPR training kit. The event will also feature a photo booth, and other learning activities.

Sullivan reached out to the AHA to memorialize her friend and colleague Kathryn Venditti, who passed away in 2015 because an AED was not present in the library. As well as to honor Nicholas Bapst a 2019 graduate of AU, who was saved by an AED when he collapsed during a basketball game.

CPR and AED save people’s lives, and Sullivan is very passionate about people attending this event, so that they can be prepared for something like this to happen again. And the hands-only technique is beneficial for those who are hesitant for mouth to mouth.

“It is crucial that everybody has just this basic understanding and even if people are certified in CPR, I encourage them to come and find out what is the hands only, and why are they promoting it this way,” she said. “The more we practice, the better we are.”

This event is national and offers many great opportunities for students to learn and participate in something that will not only benefit themselves, but others as well. Sullivan has been working with people from New York and Texas to bring it here to Ashland.

The event will not occur every year and might not be back to the university, so it is encouraged that everyone attends.

“We are really fortunate that they are coming here. Come and see, and experience it,” Sullivan said.

If interested, you can sign up and register at heart.org/cprtour/Ashland.