Emory Healthcare teams up with Atlanta Falcons for hands-only CPR and AED training event

ATLANTA - Emory Healthcare teamed up last month with the Atlanta Falcons to host the "1 Trained at Every Game" community event, providing free hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) training to nearly 500 youth and adults.

"This is how you save a life, and anybody can do it," says Jonathan Kim, MD, sports cardiologist with Emory Healthcare and associate professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology at Emory University. "The timing once your heart stops beating is critical. You only have about two to three minutes to begin CPR and with a delay, the chance of death increases dramatically."

The event, held on Sept. 7, aimed to equip youth players, parents, coaches, and the general community with essential skills to prevent deaths from sudden cardiac arrest - the leading cause of death among adults and student-athletes nationwide.

"We believe that exceptional care shouldn't be limited to professional athletes; we want everyone to be able to play sports and do that safely," says Nana-Yaw Asamoah, chief commercial officer with AMB Sports and Entertainment, which includes the Atlanta Falcons.

Emory Healthcare, the official team health care provider of the Falcons, used CPR Manikins for training sessions at the Home Depot Backyard in Atlanta outside of Mercedes-Benz Stadium as groups practiced their newly learned skills.

"I think it's important because anywhere you go, anything can happen, so it's better to learn things in order for you to help others," says Kimaya Battle, a high school student who participated.

Amadeus Mason, MD, sports medicine physician at Emory Healthcare and assistant professor in the Departments of Orthopaedics and Family Medicine at Emory University, led the hands-only CPR and AED training sessions.

"The signs that you look for when somebody is in distress is if they've collapsed," says Mason. "You can never be wrong going and checking out if someone is okay."

Freddie Falcon, Falcons' cheerleaders and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens were on hand to encourage and support the participants.

"If they ever are in that emergency, they learn the skill to give people CPR and to administer an AED. It could save a life, and this is a skill I hope everybody gets," says Dickens.

Attendees also participated in a training to talk about the importance of creating an emergency action plan that outlines specific procedures and steps to be taken in the event of an emergency to ensure a coordinated response.