UNC REX Healthcare Volunteers to Teach Life-Saving CPR Basics at N.C. State Fair
Fairgoers of all ages can learn CPR in 2-3 minutes, win prizes
RALEIGH, N.C. – Fairgoers at this year’s North Carolina State Fair can enjoy fun rides, eat a wide range of food and learn how to save lives. At a booth in the Education Building, more than 100 healthcare volunteers from UNC REX Healthcare will teach the basics of bystander CPR – a skill that can double the odds of survival for someone in sudden cardiac arrest. Volunteers will also demonstrate the basics of using an automated external defibrillator (AED) – a lifesaving tool that, when used in the first two minutes, improves survival from 10 percent to 60 percent. Currently, only 47 percent of cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR and only 3 percent have an AED applied by a bystander.
“By teaching bystanders to perform CPR and AED, we can dramatically improve survival rates,” said Dr. Ben Walker, a cardiologist with North Carolina Heart & Vascular. “The State Fair provides a great opportunity to educate thousands of people from across the state on these important, simple and lifesaving techniques.”
Sudden Cardiac Arrest strikes about 360,000 people in the United States each year. Bystander CPR can double or triple the victims’ chances of survival. Fairgoers can visit UNC REX Healthcare’s CPR booth for games, prizes and the opportunity to learn this life-saving technique.
WHERE: The booth is located in the Education Building, near Gate 12, close to the intersection of Blue Ridge Road and Hillsborough Street. The physical address is 1025 Blue Ridge Road.
WHEN: The booth will offer CPR and AED training every day the Fair is open, Oct. 11-21.
WHO: More than 100 volunteers will offer training on what a bystander can do if someone’s heart suddenly stops beating. It’s a fun, interactive and easy experience – with free prizes!
MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES: Reporters can learn the basics of bystander CPR and using an AED, talk with UNC REX experts about why it’s important and interview fairgoers who are learning bystander CPR.
Please contact Alan M. Wolf with UNC REX Healthcare, to schedule a visit or arrange interviews: 919-218-7103 or alan.wolf@unchealth.unc.edu.
