Learn Lifesaving Skills for Free at Floyd EMS

Floyd Emergency Medical Services will again hold a free lifesaving skills class after a pair of classes held in March drew strong interest from the public.

The May 19 class will include Stop the Bleed training, hands-only CPR and general first aid. The event will take place at 9:30 a.m. at EMS headquarters, 500 Riverside Parkway NE, Rome.

Bud Owens, director of Floyd EMS, said bleeding is the top cause of preventable death in trauma. The class will show participants how they can stop potentially fatal bleeding.

The national Stop the Bleed campaign was initiated by the White House in late 2015. In early 2017, the Georgia Trauma Foundation, Georgia Trauma Commission, the Georgia Society of the American College of Surgeons and the Georgia Committee on Trauma launched the program statewide.

“We had such a positive response when we held the event in April, we thought it would be a good time to hold this training again,” said Owens.

Hands-only CPR includes chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth breaths. Someone having heart attack has the best chance of survival when CPR is performed immediately. Hands-only CPR has been shown to be just as effective as conventional CPR in saving lives and can be performed easily by any member of the general public who has received training.

“Sometimes someone witnessing a heart attack won’t know how to respond,” Owens said. “Hands-only CPR can help someone provides effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation until more advanced personnel can arrive to take over and provide additional treatment.”

This event will kick off National EMS Week when EMS services across the nation are recognized for their contributions to the communities they serve.

Anyone interested in attending the May 19 training can call Maj. Rick Cobb, with Floyd EMS, at 706.509.3820.