Picture this: you are sitting enjoying a delicious meal at a nice restaurant, and all of a sudden something is not right. The person next to you has an awful look on their face, is not speaking, they are putting their hands to their throat, and you see they are not getting enough air to breathe properly. They are choking! You see another person spring into action. They run up to you, say that they are CPR/First Aid certified and ask to help. Of course, you say yes. The person performs the Heimlich Maneuver on the person choking and thankfully the item dislodges from the choking person’s throat. The medics then arrive to take over.

This is just one example of how important it is to become CPR/First Aid certified. In this case, everything turned out just fine. However, that is not always how it ends. Had it not been for that person being CPR/First Aid certified, the medics might not have made it in time to save the one choking.

June 1 through 7 is National CPR Awareness week and when you are a child care provider, emergency situations could present themselves at any time, any day. In addition to choking, there are many different emergency situations that could happen, to require the use of CPR/First Aid. Sometimes we panic and do not know what to do in an emergency situation. Becoming more educated on how to handle emergency situations, will help you to know how to respond to help a child when an emergency situation presents itself.

YOU could be the one saving their lives.

If you are not already certified, please consider becoming CPR/First Aid certified. If you are a child care provider in need of becoming certified or a Licensed Exempt provider needing to meet the Health and Safety standards, you are in luck. The YWCA of Northwestern Illinois has you covered and is here to help!

If I am a child care provider, where can I find CPR/First Aid Trainings?

The YWCA Training Calendar is where you can find all of our CPR/First Aid training opportunities. Dates are located on the “Highlighted Trainings” page. The classes we offer are in person and take place on a Saturday (9am-3pm) at the YWCA. Once the class is complete, participants will receive a certificate of completion from the YWCA and their CPR/First Aid card will be sent to them from the instructor. This class must be taken and a new card given every two years.

Who trains CPR/First Aid?

The YWCA collaborates with a well-educated and hands on trainer, with over 35 years of experience. This instructor trains the American Heart Saver CPR/ First Aid for both adults and children. Participants have given the most positive and uplifting feedback from taking his class.

• “Outstanding instructor. Very informative and knowledgeable. I would highly recommend him for future reference.”
• “The instructor was very relatable and accepted any question we had.”
• “The instructor was fantastic! Very knowledgeable and very interesting! I would strongly recommend this class to everyone!”

How can I register for a CPR/First Aid training?

If you would like to register for any CPR/First Aid course, please contact the Training Coordinator, Annemarie at: 815-484-9442 Ext 211 or AnnemarieT@ywcanwil.org. Space is limited, so we highly recommend registering well in advance. We look forward to having you attend!

Additional Resources

If you are a non-provider, parent, friend, relative etc. and are interested in taking CPR/First Aid the below entities offer classes:

• American Heart Association
• American Safety & Health Institute (ASHI)
• American Red Cross
• American Trauma Event Management (ATEM)
• Emergency Care and Safety Institute (ECSI)
• Edward Atkinson/Emergency Response Health Network
• Ellis & Associates, Inc.-Orlando, FL
• EMS Safety Services
• Know CPR
• MEDIC FIRST AID
• National Safety Council
• Pacific Medical Training
• Pro-Trainings, LLC
• Titan CPR Associates

-Annemarie Toldo, YWCA CORE Training Coordinator