Senior center hosts American Red Cross CPR class

It pays to be prepared in the event of an emergency and the Graham Senior Citizen Center took a step in that direction when the American Red Cross came to teach a CPR class last week.

Jarod Cook of the Texas Division of Emergency Management reached out to the Red Cross to set up a hands-only CPR class for senior citizens in Graham. The course involved instruction on how to handle a situation in the event someone has stopped breathing without blowing air into the person’s mouth.

The course was free as it’s one the Red Cross regularly goes around sharing throughout the country. Taylor Johnson, a representative from the Red Cross, brought the course to Graham to share knowledge and help people be prepared for various situations.

“We usually respond to disasters, but over the past couple of decades we’ve really developed a robust program of disaster preparedness and disaster mitigation,” Johnson said. “We don’t want people’s first touch with Red Cross to be when they’re in need.”

The goal of this hands-only CPR course is to train more individuals to help save lives. Participants learned how to check for consciousness, call 911 or the local emergency number and to give chest compressions.

Although CPR training certification is not provided through this course, having more people with this knowledge could make the difference in saving a life before authorized emergency personnel arrive.

Multiple seniors citizens at the center participated in the course and practiced lifesaving scenarios. This class is just one of several that the Red Cross offers.

“The preparedness programs are a way for us to get into the community and give folks some skills to help them shelter themselves if need be,” Johnson said. “We like them to be community-based and specific to the area, and they’re always free of charge… We not only do hands-only CPR, we also do short presentations on what to do during a tornado or a flash flood or extreme heat.”

Roxy Cook, a licensed vocational nurse who helped with the coordination of this class, shared that this is the first time a course like this has been offered but that she hopes to get more members of the community involved in the future.

“We don’t want to bring fear into the community, but we do want to bring preparedness and have resources available for our older adults and their caregivers,” she said. “... I’m hoping the word gets around. I would like to hit up some of the churches and get the churches involved, as there’s seniors there, as well as older caregivers there.”

Natural disasters or life-threatening emergencies can happen to any person at any time. The Red Cross’ goal for all individuals, not just senior citizens, is to have people prepared to act and do what they can to feel confident in handling the situation.

“We’re ‘be prepared, not scared,’” Johnson said. “... A lot of responding to a disaster is just being prepared as a mindset and knowing what to do. (It) gives you the confidence to not slide into shock when your whole world is being affected.”