By Amanda Nageleisen
UC Health
Clinicians from UC Health’s University of Cincinnati Medical Center partnered with Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin and the American Heart Association on July 28 to raise awareness of the importance of CPR and AEDs help save lives.
Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation hosted a community Hands-Only CPR education event with the American Heart Association on Saturday afternoon on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.
More than 500 people registered to receive free hands-only CPR training throughout the day. Chasing M’s also provided free CPR education for youth sports groups and distributed 50 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to youth sports organizations in the community.
“I always say you can’t make the world a better place without action. To learn CPR and to receive these AEDs, that’s a step in taking action to make this world a better place. So thank you,” Hamlin told attendees.
Hamlin’s life was saved by CPR and AED on Monday, Jan. 2 after he suffered cardiac arrest during a NFL football game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. Members of the UC Health on-field and hospital care teams who provided medical care to Hamlin spoke alongside him at Saturday’s event.
“Thank you, Damar, for the heart you have shown our community and communities nationwide. Your leadership is changing the game of survival in the event of cardiac emergencies both on the field and elsewhere. It’s no surprise that you continue to win in the game of life,” said Woods Curry, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and a UC Health emergency medicine physician.
It was Hamlin’s first visit to Cincinnati since his discharge from University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Monday, Jan. 9. On Saturday morning, Hamlin and his family also returned the University of Cincinnati Medical Center for a private visit with the hospital’s care teams.
“They treated me with a care that was unmatched,” Hamlin said. “I told them I felt like family – I didn’t feel like just a patient who was going through a life-or-death situation. They genuinely cared.”
As Greater Cincinnati’s academic health system, UC Health plays a leadership role within the community in cardiac awareness and education. UC Health’s Take10 Cincinnati program provides free trainings to community members and youth sports organizations in compression-only CPR.
“In the City of Cincinnati alone, more than 400 cardiac arrests occur each year. Even with the best EMS systems, it takes 4-5 minutes for responders to reach the scene after a 911 call. Every minute of inaction decreases the chances of survival by 10%,” Curry said. “Hands-only CPR can and does save lives across our community every day, and we thank everyone who came to receive this training today.”
UC Health also partners with the Cincinnati Fire Department to provide PulsePoint Respond, a free app that is connected to 911 dispatch and notifies members of the community when someone near them is experiencing cardiac arrest in a public place and needs CPR.
For more information or to request a training, please visit https://www.take10cincinnati.com/.