February 27th, 2019

In 2016, a group of leading health organizations in the Philadelphia region joined together to form CPR Ready, an initiative aimed at helping communities become CPR Ready – or prepared to respond in a sudden cardiac arrest emergency. Since then, CPR Ready has trained more than 100,000 people on how to save a life.

Sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, and it can happen to anyone, regardless of age or physical fitness. When someone collapses from sudden cardiac arrest, how quickly bystanders respond can be the difference between life and death.

CPR Ready has been working to coordinate and expand access to resources that prepare people for this type of emergency. Its partners provide the public with training on how to perform Hands-Only CPR, which keeps oxygen flowing to vital organs when the heart stops beating, and how to use an AED, which can shock a heart back into rhythm. In the precious minutes before emergency responders arrive at the scene, these simple steps can keep someone alive.

CPR Ready is a collective effort between the following stakeholders: the American Heart Association, the American Red Cross, the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the CPR/AED Public Awareness and Training Network, the Health Care Improvement Foundation, Independence Blue Cross, the Independence Blue Cross Foundation, Penn Medicine, Philadelphia Fire Department, and the School District of Philadelphia.

A child practices chest compressions at a CPR Ready training event on the Independence Visitor’s Center lawn during CPR and AED Awareness Week in June.