Every year about 735,000 Americans have a heart attack; more than 2,000 Americans will have one on any given day. Heart attacks and other cardiac emergencies do not discriminate: They can happen any time, anywhere and can be deadly without immediate medical intervention. A CPR certification will enable you to save a life no matter where you are.
DAN® created its Basic Life Support (BLS): CPR and First Aid course to give people the knowledge and skills they need to recognize and respond to some of the most common emergency situations. Like similar accredited courses, DAN’s course teaches students how to perform CPR, use an automatic external defibrillator (AED) and recognize the signs and symptoms associated with cardiac and respiratory emergencies. Unlike other accredited courses, DAN’s BLS combines CPR and first aid into a single course. Most organizations require participants to maintain two separate certifications, but doing so can be a hassle, especially when these certifications expire at different times. Recognizing this issue, DAN has streamlined the learning and renewal process to help keep providers active.
In the DAN BLS: CPR and First Aid course, providers learn the skills they need to make primary and secondary assessments and recognize common medical emergencies such as heart attack, stroke and choking. Students learn to manage obstructed airways, put injured parties into the recovery position, control external bleeding, manage shock, apply bandages and splints and care for wounds. These skills are useful wherever emergencies strike, especially in situations where advanced medical care is near but not immediately available.
Perhaps more than other organization, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) understands the clear and present need for boaters to stay prepared for emergencies on the water, which is why they require all licensed captains and mates to maintain CPR and first aid certifications. In May 2019 the USCG approved the DAN BLS: CPR and First Aid course to fulfill the elementary first aid requirement for captain and mate licensing. This approval is valid until May 2024. All captains and mates who want to use the DAN course to fulfill their first aid requirement must complete the course within the calendar year prior to submitting their USCG license application. To learn more about how this course can keep you prepared and compliant with USCG regulations, visit DAN.org/Training.
© Alert Diver — Q3 Summer 2019