At CPR Choice we get to train heroes almost every day.   We train fireman, police, doctors, nurses, EMTs, soldiers and more. When you think of heroes those are usually the people that come to mind, right? While all of those people are heroes we also train a totally different group of heroes…TEACHERS!

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week and we want to take a minute to say “thank you!”. Teachers sacrifice so much of their lives and time for our children and they don’t get thanked nearly enough. Now that I have a child in the school system (First grade), I can say that my son’s teachers have truly amazed me. They do so many little things to try and make his learning experience better. I know that they spend money out of their own pockets to decorate their classrooms and to have little treats for the kids.

Summer is almost here! Don’t forget to acknowledge and appreciate your child’s teachers. I read a quote once that said, “summer vacation is a time when parents realize that teachers are grossly underpaid”. This is so true!

We want to extend a special discount for our teacher heroes. Many schools require teachers to be CPR certified but they expect teachers to pay for it on their own. We recommend that all school staff be certified in CPR and for several staff members to be certified in first aid. We read stories every day about teachers preventing fatalities at school due to their CPR knowledge. You never know when you might need to use those skills and we want you to feel prepared. Sign up for a CPR class today and take advantage of our discount for teachers!

Caring for children is a privilege for those who are called to do it. It is also an enormous responsibility and one that caregivers should be as prepared as possible to undertake. Being able to care for a child in their own home provides a comfortable, familiar environment for the child where they feel safe and secure. However, according to the CDC accidental injury is the leading cause of death in children under 14 in the United States and more of these accidents happen at home than anywhere else. Being certified in CPR and First Aid arms caregivers with the skills they need to act in a timely manner if an accident happens.

The leading reasons children under the age of 4 are seen in the emergency room include falls, being struck by something, allergic reactions, poisoning, burns, and being cut or pierces by something.  Although most of these can be seen as preventable, anyone with children knows they are quick, curious, and often times fearless. Accidents can happen even when parents are in the same room with a child. CPR and First Aid training equips nannies and babysitters to immediately respond to these situations and many more and get the child the time sensitive medical help they may need until parents can be notified and get to their child. For parents, knowing their caregiver has these skills gives them piece of mind when they are leaving their children.

Preventing accidents is always the first priority, but in the event they do……and they will……happen, feeling confident in your ability and knowledge to handle the situation is invaluable in keeping the child calm, comforting them and getting them they help they need until mom and dad can be there.

Sign up for a Pediatric CPR & First Aid class today!

Seems like everyone around you is SICK! How can you strengthen your immune system’s defense again viruses and bacterial infections that cause conditions like the common cold or flu. We know everyone will and can get sick, even the healthiest people. We wanted to share a few ways to support your immune system the natural way.

1. 8 hours of sleep is a requirement!   Sleep helps the body regulate the immune system. It’s critical you get enough rest before you get sick.
2. Focus on hygiene.   According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, washing your hands is the best way to steer clear of an illness. Washing your hands should take you at least 15-20 seconds, using warm water and soap. Seems silly to remind you, but you should always wash your hands prior to preparing food or eating and after you cough, sneeze or use the restroom.
3. Relieve your stress. Studies have shown that prolonged stress has a negative impact on a person’s immune system.   Incorporate stress relieving techniques in your daily routine – those can include yoga, meditation or cuddling with a loved one.
4. Moderate exercise is the key! Working out on a regular basis can help mobilize your T cells, which are a type of white blood cells known to guard the body against infections. Moderate exercise includes a brisk walk for an average of about 30 minutes a day. Easy enough and not only fights against illness, but also helps you stay fit and mentally in balance.
5. Diet- seems like it all comes down to what we eat! Antioxidants are essential to supporting our immune systems.   Antioxidants fight the free radicals, which are chemical by products know to damage DNA and suppress the immune system. To continue to fight the free radicals- make sure your diet is rich in fruits and vegetables. Also for another immune boost, add garlic and ginger to your diet.   Garlic has virus-fighting and bacteria-killing properties, while ginger is a natural anti-inflammatory. And don’t forget the importance of water! It helps keep infections at bay by flushing out your system.

CPR Choice cares about your well-being. Incorporate these tips into your every day to help you stay healthy!  

Victims of drowning usually do not thrash in the water as often made out to be in the movies.  Most victims are found floating or submerged in the water.  Victims may not be able to call for help because they are using all of their energy trying to breathe or keep their head above water. When water is inhaled, the upper airway may go into a spasm also making it difficult to cry for help.

Signs of drowning :

• The victim does not flail and thrash in the water. Instead, drowning tends to be a quieter act, and victims tend to appear lethargic or are found unresponsive floating on the water, or submerged beneath it.
• The drowning victim often is bobbing with their head tilted back just at the waterline and the mouth wide open. There are attempts to keep rolling on to the back.
• The respiratory effort may be rapid but is often shallow.
• The eyes tend to be wide open and may hold a sense of panic.
• If there is a swimming effort, it is weak and uncoordinated.

In a drowning emergency, the sooner the victim is removed from the water and first aid is administered, the greater opportunity the victim has for surviving. 

A new baby is a life changing event and a blessing all wrapped up in one! Planning, prioritizing, and preparing for your little bundle of joy can be overwhelming. One thing you can’t neglect is getting your family prepared with life-saving skills to care for your little one. Have you added infant/child CPR training to your list of “to dos”? If not, CPR Choice is here to help!

CPR Choice offers infant and pediatric basic first aid classes for all caretakers. Before your little one arrives makes sure all your caregivers are prepared in case of an emergency. Set aside a few hours to attend a class with CPR Choice to learn the proper techniques. Techniques differ depending on the age of the child, and doing them improperly can be harmful- learn the right technique today!

CPR – infants and children under a year old:

• Is the baby responsive? Check lips and fingertips, are they blue? Are they breathing? If not, have someone call 9-1-1!
• Place baby on her back- on a firm, flat surface.
• Give 30 chest compressions – using your index and ring fingers between your babies nipples at a tempo of 100 compressions a minute.
• Tilt baby’s head back, push back on forehead and lift chin with one finger.
• Give 2 short, gentle breaths watching for chest rise.
• Continue to repeat compressions and breaths.

Choking –infants and children under a year old:

• Turn infant facedown over your forearm or on your lap if you can’t manage the forearm position, hold their jaw with one hand to support the head, which should be lower than the chest. Using the heel of your free hand, deliver five quick slaps between the shoulder blades.
• If still can’t breathe, try chest thrusts: While holding your baby, turn face-up, keeping the head lower than the chest. Place two fingers in the middle of the chest and give five thrusts.
• Repeat with back blows and chest thrusts until the object is visible and you can remove it.

Choking – children over 1 year old:

• Stand behind the child with your arms around their waist.
• Make a fist with one hand, placing the thumb side against the child’s stomach above the navel, but below the rib cage.
• Grasp the fist with your other hand and quickly thrust inward and upward.
• If your child becomes unresponsive, instruct someone to call 9-1-1 and begin CPR immediately.

CPR Choice serves all local hospitals including Fort Sanders, Park West, Tennova, University of TN Medical Center, Blount Memorial, Methodist, LeConte, Wellmont, Mountain States Health Alliance and many more. We want to be your choice to help you and your family be prepared for any medical emergency.

Gather your group of caregivers, including Mom & Dad, Partner, Grandmother, Aunts, etc. and schedule a class with CPR Choice today!   As an added incentive, when you schedule your “Family” training session your 2^nd person (must be immediate family) will get a 50% discount.   Do it for you, your peace of mind and your family!

Contact us at 865-548-1500 or info@cprchoice.com to schedule your family life saving class today!

For Groups of 8 or more, please contact us via our On-Site/Group Training page.

The Healthy Living Expo is coming up!  Get ready for Knoxville’s largest Health & Fitness Expo.  AND…Guess What??  CPR Choice will be participating this year!  We will be doing live CPR demonstrations as well as teaching classes and handing out information at our booth.  Come visit us and learn “hands-only” CPR and get some information and goodies!  We will also be teaching a Friends & Family class each day of the expo. The class will be $10 and all proceeds will be donated to The American Heart Association.

Friday, Jan 23, 2015 9am-3pm (Family & Friends CPR @ 2PM, click to sign up)
Saturday, Jan 24, 2015 9am-4pm (Family & Friends CPR @ 2PM, click to sign up)

Knoxville Convention Center, Booth #121

Admission to the expo is $10 at the door or FREE if you get your tickets ahead of time.
Seniors FREE on Friday, Children 12 and under FREE

FUN! FIT! FABULOUS and FREE!

The area’s largest event focused on health, fitness, nutrition and living green returns for it’s eleventh year to the Knoxville Convention Center January 23-24, 2015. Over 130 individual companies fill more than 250 exhibits. The Expo continues to grow each year from its launch in 2005 and expects approximately 10,000 visitors!  The Healthy Living Expo offers interactive, educational exhibits, demonstrations and presentations.  Best of all, it is FREE when you get tickets before the doors open.

Some of the features for the 2014 Expo:

• Natural Awakenings Natural Health Pavilion
• Life Saving Skills taught by CPR Choice
• Chiropractic Care Pavilion
• Various Important Health Checks
• Healthy Food Sampling Booths
• Hundreds of prizes given away both days!

FREE WELLNESS PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYERS
Cigna Healthcare takes the lead promoting employee wellness by sponsoring tickets to the expo for any company that registers on The Healthy Living Expo website. Whether you have a handful of employees or one of the largest employers in our region, registration only takes a few minutes at the website, TheHealthyLivingExpo.com then you can offer:

MANY WAYS TO GET FIT and GET HEALTHY!
From natural health products to fitness companies, you will find a plethora of new ways to get fit and get healthy at The Healthy Living Expo, including life saving techniques from CPR Choice!

CPR CHOICE
What could be more important than knowing how to save someone in a life threatening situation? The Expo is proud to have CPR Choice demonstrate on stage some of the techniques you can learn when you take a CPR class. You can even take a class while you are at the expo, so by the time you leave you can be prepared to properly assist someone with life saving skills!

Natural Health Pavilion
This section of The Healthy Living Expo has companies with products and services that have a natural health aspect. Natural Awakenings Magazine, the foremost leader in our community promoting natural health is the sponsor of this area. Everything from household products, nutritional supplements to local green suppliers are found in the pavilion promoting a healthy mind, body and planet.

Chiropractic Care Pavilion
In keeping with the natural health approach to wellness is the Chiropractic Care pavilion. Three top chiropractic health professionals host this section with information about whole body wellness using natural health solutions.

FUN Outdoors
Getting outdoors, taking walks and hikes, visiting local parks are all part of living healthy so the City of Knoxville sponsors this area to inform our community of these available resources. Look for many associations and businesses offering information and products for outdoor fun for the entire family available right here in East Tennessee.

Get FIT with Health Checks
More than a dozen free health checks are available at the Expo. Screenings for allergies, blood pressure and a list of other simple tests will be listed at TheHealthyLivingExpo.com under the health check tab.

FABULOUS FOODS
Local Chef Walter and other experts using healthy products create FABULOUS foods at the Eat Right stage then share samples with visitors.  And after each segment, prizes are drawn for those attending. In addition to the stage presentations, numerous exhibitors offer samples of healthy products.

Get Active to stay FIT!
Fort Sanders Health & Fitness Center takes the lead on this stage with plenty of ideas for getting active. Music fills the area for two days highlighting numerous ways to become more active. Demonstrations are exciting to watch, inviting to participate and created for visitors of all ages.

It is informative and fun!  Come check it out!  This is a prime opportunity to find ideas, products, and services from the many exhibitors! CPR Choice is offering these Family & Friends CPR classes as a public service. All proceeds from this class will be donated directly to the American Heart Association.

Part of our mission is to “Save Lives” and we take it very seriously.  Every year we participate in several charity events to try and help save the lives of others.  We try to make giving one of the cornerstones of our company.  We donate to local churches, scout troops and many other non-profits through out the year.  This holiday season we have chose to do a peanut butter drive for our local food bank, Second Harvest. 

Helping Those in Need

According to Second Harvest Food Bank, 1 in 6 people in East Tennessee lives in poverty and has difficulty meeting basic needs. Second Harvest is trying to change that statistic in 18 East Tennessee counties and WE WANT TO HELP.  Second Harvest Food Bank is the East Tennessee region’s largest hunger-relief charity. The food bank secures and distributes over 16 million pounds of food and grocery products annually through a network of over 500 partnering non-profit organizations such as food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters and schools.

Why Peanut Butter?

Many food banks refer to peanut butter as creamy gold and is greatly sought after by 2nd Harvest.  It is highly valued, prime food product because it is packed with essential nutrients and provides a good combination of protein, carbohydrate and fats.  Peanut butter also has a long shelf life and it makes giving easy and affordable.

How can I help?

1. Tell your friends–make an event out of it! Announce it at your school, church, gym, neighborhood or collect it at your upcoming holiday parties.
2. Collect lots of peanut butter-get your kids involved.  What a great way to help teach them generosity.  My kids are I walking the neighborhood with our little red wagon.
3. Drop off peanut butter donations at our new West Knoxville office by December 20th;
   9111 Cross Park Dr Bldg D200, Knoxville TN 37923
4. Bring a jar of peanut butter to your upcoming CPR class and get $5 off

This holiday season please help us Spread the Love!  No one should have to go hungry.  Please exercise your heart by reaching down and lifting up those in need.  

We are continuing to collect Peanut Butter at our CPR classes in Knoxville.
Come learn CPR and donate!

It’s hard not to get spooked by all the Halloween safety tips and warnings that appear this time of year. The good news is there are some simple ways to keep your little pumpkin safe.  Here are some Halloween safety tips to keep your family “spook” free!

Jack-o-Lanterns: Older children can learn to cut pumpkins and light candles with adult supervision.  Younger children can help scoop out the seeds and draw designs on the pumpkins with a marker.  Also be careful of the pumpkin seeds, they can become a choking hazard for little ones.

Dress for safety:  According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, two of the most common reasons why children end up in the emergency room on Halloween include eye injuries caused by sharp objects and burns from flammable costumes.   Even though cuteness counts, be sure to help your child pick a costume that is flame-resistant, not too long or loose or have any pieces that can get caught on or in something.  And avoid props, such as swords, unless they are short, soft and blunt.

Skip Masks:  Avoid anything that can obstruct their vision, such as a mask.  Be creative and add face paint to complement their costume.

Be a beacon:  Pedestrian and vehicle incidents double on Halloween as compared to other nights.  If your plans include trick or treating in the evening, remember to choose a bright-colored costume.  Another great option that allows your little goblin to be more visible is to add reflective tape or glow necklaces, bracelets to their costume.  And don’t forget your flashlight!

Candy Check: On average about 12,000 children a year are treated in emergency rooms as a result of a choking incident.  Parents should inspect all candy before children are allowed to eat it, paying attention to any candy that is not sealed tightly or the packaging is ripped or cut.  The majority of Halloween candy that causes the highest risk of choking includes hard candy, nuts, raison, fruit snacks, gum or anything gooey or sticky, such as caramel or taffy.  Also, be careful with nonedible treats too that can cause choking hazards, for example little balls or marbles.

Keep these tips in mind, and leave the spooking to the haunted houses!

Are you ready to give yourself a treat and learn a few tricks with CPR Choice? Sign up for a First Aid, CPR and AED class today!

We all hope we will never be put in the position of having to save a child’s life, but it could happen. Children of all ages test their physical limits and get caught in all kinds of dangerous situations. They choke on food or candy, fall off bikes and playground equipment, and take a leap into water unsupervised.

Here are a few steps to explain the basics of first aid for choking, but do yourself a favor and don’t rely on this as your sole source of information. Set aside a few hours to attend a class with CPR Choice to learn the proper techniques. Techniques differ depending on the age of the child, and doing them improperly can be harmful- learn the right technique today!

Children under a year old:

• Turn infant facedown over your forearm or on your lap if you can’t manage the forearm position, hold their jaw with one hand to support the head, which should be lower than the chest.
• Using the heel of your free hand, deliver five quick slaps between the shoulder blades.
• If still can’t breathe, try chest thrusts: While holding your baby, turn face-up, keeping the head lower than the chest. Place two fingers in the middle of the chest and give five thrusts.
• Repeat with back blows and chest thrusts until the object is visible and you can remove it.

Children over 1 year old:

• Stand behind the child with your arms around their waist.
• Make a fist with one hand, placing the thumb side against the child’s stomach above the navel, but below the rib cage.
• Grasp the fist with your other hand and quickly thrust inward and upward.
• If your child becomes unresponsive, instruct someone to call 9-1-1 and begin CPR immediately.

Toddlers & Older Children:

• If your child is still making sounds, tell them to cough, which may dislodge the object. (Don’t try to remove a foreign object unless you see it, or you could push it farther into the airway.)
• Ask “Are you choking?” If they nod yes or can’t respond, they need help.
• Give five back blows, bending them forward and provide five sharp back blows with the heel of one hand in the middle of the back between the shoulder blades. Check with the child after each blow.
• If the obstruction does not clear after the back blows, give five chest thrusts. Place one hand in the middle of the back for support and the heel of your other hand in the CPR compression position and give five chest thrusts, slower but sharper than CPR compressions.  Check with the child after each thrust.
• Call 9-1-1 and alternate between back and chest thrusts if the object is still lodged.
• Perform CPR if the child becomes unconscious.

Learn the proper techniques to save a life, it very well could be a loved one!  Check out our calendar to find a class for individuals or complete the form for on-site group training.  We guarantee it will be the best CPR class you have ever taken!  We currently serve the Knoxville, Maryville and Tri-cities area of Tennessee (TN).  Visit one of our websites for specific information for your area.

www.KnoxvilleCPR.com

www.TriCitiesCPR.com

Halloween is just around the corner and is the 2^nd largest holiday in America!  Trick or treating has become customary on Halloween and includes children dressing up in costumes venturing from house to house asking for treats with the question “Trick or Treat?”.  In fact, the word “trick” refers to a “threat” to perform mischief on the homeowner or their property if a treat is not given.  So, the majority of households are gearing up to deliver treats to all the ghouls that will dare come to their door.  According to the National Retail Federation, it is estimated that Americans will spend $6.9 billion this year for Halloween, with $2.5 billion spent on costumes.   Who can resist a cute Winnie the Pooh knocking on your door holding a pumpkin treat or treat bag?

As you start to think about your treats, here are some ideas that will satisfy all your super heroes, ghosts and ghouls:

Be creative in your treat options and look for healthy alternatives:

• String cheese
• Bagged pretzels
• Homemade trail-mix/granola
• Bagged carrots

Be sensitive to children who have food allergies or digestive issues, here are some wonderful “non food” alternatives:

• Halloween-themed pencils and erasers
• Sidewalk chalk or crayons
• Spider rings
• Glow sticks, bracelets or necklaces
• Bubbles
• Stickers

A new initiative geared to children with food allergies is the Teal Pumpkin Project. About 15 million Americans have food allergies, which means roughly 1 out of 13 children that knock on your door this Halloween will be affected by allergies.  By displaying a Teal Pumpkin, this notifies trick or treaters and parents that non-food treats will be available.  Created by a mother who has children with food allergies, this is a great way to promote awareness and offer a holiday season without the fear!

Be safe this year and Happy Halloween from CPR Choice!