LUZERNE - Heart attacks can kill, but cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and automated external defibrillators can save lives.
To that end, local emergency medical personnel founded a new nonprofit organization, the EMS Training Institute of NEPA, to offer low-cost training in CPR, use of AEDs and first aid.
Executive Director David Prohaska said the institute is open to emergency responders and the public.
Mr. Prohaska said it can cost from $70 to $110 for a CPR certification card, but the normal cost from the Institute is $50. Because February is National Heart Month, the institute is offering half-price training, he said.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in Pennsylvania, according to the state Department of Health.
(The five-county region of Luzerne, Lackawanna, Columbia, Sullivan and Wyoming counties has the highest incidence of heart-disease death in Pennsylvania, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in January 2012. At that time, those counties were the only ones in the state falling into the CDC's most distressing category, showing 455 to 651 of every 100,000 deaths in people over age 35 are a direct result of heart disease.)
The institute can accommodate groups and organizations, from helping Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts earn merit badges to doing workplace training. Classes are held in Suite 101 of the Trans-Med building, 14 Marion St. in Luzerne, but for an additional charge, classes can be held off-site, Mr. Prohaska said.
So far, those expressing interest range from local police officers to a mother who wants her two sons to learn CPR because their father has a heart problem, Mr. Prohaska said.
The institute even has a dog dummy and will soon offer pet first aid and CPR classes to the public.
There are 10 instructors with a total of nearly 200 years of emergency medical services experience, Mr. Prohaska said.
Their fees go toward expenses and equipment, and the institute has applied through Luzerne Borough for a state gaming grant to buy electronic mannequins, which Mr. Prohaska said are expensive, but the most lifelike for use in training.
"We're not in it to get rich," Mr. Prohaska said. "We want to provide affordable, quality training."
For more information, call 714-0149 or email emstinepa@gmail.com.
Contact the writer: eskrapits@citizensvoice.com