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Saint Xavier University’s Health Center offers Basic Life Support (BLS) for healthcare provider’s courses to SXU students, faculty and community members. The BLS courses are designed by the American Heart Association to train health care professionals to perform CPR.
Kathryn Tibbits, a family nurse practitioner and the director of clinical services at the Health Center, and two faculty from the school of nursing are the instructors of the course. There is also another nurse practitioner that will be trained to be an instructor.
Each class can have up to nine students with one instructor. However, if there is a high demand for a particular date, there may be two instructors with up to 18 students.
The BLS course will train participants to perform CPR on adults, children, or infants, use an automated external defibrillator (AED), use other basic medical equipment, and rescue infants, children, or adults who are choking.
Upon completing the class, participants will receive a CPR certification card, which will be valid for two years. All nursing and speech-language pathology students are required to complete the BLS course and receive their CPR Certification before they begin their clinicals.
According to Kathleen Rohan, the Director of Center for Nursing Innovation, many students from other schools such as Moraine Valley also take the BLS class at SXU’s Health Center to fulfill similar requirements.
Others who participate in the BLS courses, besides students, include SXU faculty members who oversee students in clinical sessions. Other members of the community are also able to register for the course, even if they are not SXU students or faculty. Tibbits explained that there is a high demand for courses that result in CPR certification.
“Most hospitals require that all employees are CPR certified, even the person answering the phone, because you never know when there might be an emergency,” said Tibbits.
The BLS courses are scheduled for several dates throughout the year. The next course is scheduled for November 20 at 8:00 am and takes four hours to complete. Courses are also offered on December 11, December 15, January 6 and January 8. All classes are held in the Health Center, which is located in the northwest corner of Parking Lot 4.
The SXU Health Center has been offering BLS courses for about two years. According to Rohan, participants have responded well to the class. “We do course evaluations and the scores are always high. We’ve had really good responses; people saying the instructors were really good, the equipment was good, the location was convenient. We’ve received very positive feedback,” said Rohan.
The cost of the course is $40 for SXU students, faculty or staff, and $50 for community members. The fee includes the cost of the BLS for Healthcare Providers Student Manual and the certification cards.
Besides the BLS course, the Health Center offers a course called Heart Saver which is not limited to just health care providers. Like the BLS course, Heart Saver focuses on CPR training, use of an AED, and relief of choking, however, there is less emphasis on medical equipment.
Participants of this class will receive a certification card once they complete the course. Heart Saver courses are scheduled based on interest, so there are currently no specific dates for the class. Rohan explained that, once at least six people show interest in taking the Heart Saver course, the Health Center will schedule a day for them to complete the class.
Tibbits stressed that learning to perform CPR is not just important for medical providers. “The reason why it’s important for everyone to be trained in it, whether or not you are a medical professional, is that the time between an event happening, and calling for help, and waiting for the ambulance to arrive can be 10 minutes, and that 10 minutes is really critical to the survival of that person,” said Tibbits.
Rohan and Tibbits illustrated the importance of learning to perform CPR by with an example that occurred over a year ago in the Shannon Center. They explained that a community member who was walking the Shannon center track suffered a heart attack.
A senior nursing student and a member of the Shannon Center staff recognized what had happened, called for help, and performed CPR. The student and staff member were able to save his life. According to Rohan, Shannon Center staff often goes to the Health Center for CPR training.
Another course that is offered alongside the BLS and Heart Saver courses is a first aid course. This class lasts three to four hours and focuses on basic treatment of medical emergencies or injuries. The Health Center has provided first aid training to employees from area businesses in the banking and construction industry.
Those interested in registering for the BLS course or expressing interest in the other courses can call the Health Center at 773-298-3712 or visit the center Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Yasmeen Abdellatif
News Editor