With the global spread of COVID-19 — also known as “coronavirus” — there has never been a better time to know CPR. Hospitals worldwide are struggling with high patient volume, which means that citizens in everyday settings need to do their part to help “flatten the curve.” This not only involves sheltering in place to stop the spread of coronavirus — it also involves knowing how to perform CPR during COVID-19 to people nearby. With proper aid at the scene of an emergency, precious hospital space and time can be allocated to the outbreak, and many lives can be saved.
If you — like many professionals in life-saving, care, or administrative fields — have already been trained and certified in CPR, you can update your CPR training during COVID-19 with a hybrid online / in person renewal course. You can also renew your BLS, ACLS, and PALS certification while sheltering in place with a hybrid option. In this guide, we’ll show you how.
Online BLS Renewal With Skills Check
Basic Life Support (or BLS for short) is a certification course that teaches a number of live-saving skills. These include how to administer CPR to adults, children, and infants, how to operate in AEDs is a number of situations. The course also covers how to assist choking victims, how to use breathing barriers and bag valve masks, and more. An accredited BLS certification is required for all medical care providers and first responders. Though it lasts just 2 years, it’s easy to renew.
For those with an expired BLS certification card (or a card that will soon expire), our team here at SureFire CPR offers an Online BLS Renewal Course With Skills Check. This course requires participants to complete a series of self-paced online training modules that can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours to complete, depending on experience. Next, participants must complete a short skills test at our facility to be awarded a BLS certification renewal. Great for medical professionals with busy schedules and those looking to maintain safe social distances during quarantine, the first half of our BLS renewal course can be completed from the comfort of a home computer – perfect for CPR training during COVID-19. The second part takes place in a clean, 1-on-1 environment with a trained emergency response professional.
Online ACLS Renewal With Skills Check
Advanced Cardiac Life Support (or ACLS for short) is a certification course that builds upon the foundation laid by BLS and teaches more advanced life-saving skills, including how to perform CPR during COVID-19. In addition to diving deeper into the subject matter covered in BLS courses, ACLS courses also cover how to properly administer an IV, how to read and decipher electrocardiograms, and how to administer emergency drugs. ACLS courses are designed specifically for medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, anesthesiologists, dentists, and more. Like BLS certifications, accredited ACLS certifications last for 2 years. And like BLS certifications, they are easy to renew.
Here at SureFire CPR, we are proud to provide an Online ACLS Renewal Course With Skills Check to help medical professionals renew their ACLS certifications without headache or hassle. Like our BLS renewal course, this course requires participants to complete a series of self-paced online training modules that can take anywhere from 3 hours to 8 hours, depending on experience. Next, participants must complete a short skills test (lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour) in order to earn a renewal for their ACLS certifications. The first portion is can be completed from the comfort of your home, and the second portion is conducted in a sterile, 1-on-1 environment — great for medical professionals looking to stay safe while updating their CPR training during COVID-19.
Online PALS Renewal With Skills Check
Pediatric Advanced Life Support (or PALS, for short) is a certification course created by the American Heart Association that teaches students how to administer life-saving care to children. PALS courses teach a systematic approach to Pediatric Assessment while helping students learn proper management of pediatric respiratory emergencies, safe vascular access, effective airway management, pharmacology, BLS for children, and more. PALS courses are required for professionals who provide medical attention to children of infants in emergencies. An accredited PALS certification lasts 2 years, but it can be renewed quickly without the need for a re-enrollment in an initial PALS certification course.
Making it easy for emergency childcare professionals to renew their PALS certifications, our team here at SureFire CPR offers an Online PALS Renewal Course With Skills Check. Like the other renewal courses covered above, our PALS renewal course is completed in two sections. The first section includes a series of self-paced online training modules that participants can be completed in anywhere from 3 hours to 8 hours, depending on experience. The second section involves a short skills test (lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour) that must be completed at a SureFire CPR facility in order for students to earn renewal for their PALS certifications. As mentioned above, our facilities are cleaned regularly and the skills test itself is conducted in a 1-on-1 environment for maximum safety. Even better: the online portion of our PALS renewal course can be completed from the comfort of your own home. Staying up-to-date on CPR during COVID-19 has never been easier.
Why You Should Renew Your CPR Certification during COVID-19
Cautious about renewing your CPR certification during the coronavirus pandemic? You’re not alone. There are many fears about virus transmission while performing CPR during COVID-19, but the truth is staying up-to-date on current techniques is more important than ever. Before the pandemic, over 350,000 people experienced cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year. That’s thousands of patients in a life or death situation requiring CPR. There’s no doubt coronavirus has contributed to an increased number of cardiac arrest victims. But what are the protocols on how to perform CPR during COVID-19, and is renewing your certification worth it?
The short answer: yes. There are two crucial reasons why: COVID-19 can cause cardiac arrest, and CDC studies show that many people are avoiding urgent care for non-COVID emergencies for fear of contracting the virus. If people aren’t going to the hospital after experiencing tell-tale signs of a heart attack, a medical emergency is likely to strike outside of the emergency room.
COVID complications such as respiratory failure, cardiac arrest, and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) make CPR crucial in the event of a heart attack. In fact, the American Heart Association shows that CPR can increase the chances of survival by nearly 50 percent. You can do your part by renewing your CPR training during COVID-19 and help save lives in the midst of this global healthcare crisis. Choosing an online CPR renewal course with a socially distanced, one-on-one skills check ensures your safety while staying up to date on your life-saving skills.
Learn How to Perform CPR during COVID-19
According to the CDC, there currently isn’t enough data on transmission while administering CPR during COVID-19. However, it’s safe to assume that chest compressions may potentially generate respiratory droplets, risking transmission. For this reason, the American Heart Association has provided guidelines on how to perform CPR during COVID-19.
Recommendations include wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves and face masks while administering CPR. Victims should have a face mask or covering placed over the mouth and nose to reduce the risk of transmission. If there is only one mask available, the AHA recommends placing it on the victim. Responders are to look for signs of breathing rather than listening or feeling for the victim’s breathing. Instead, lay responders should provide continuous hands-only CPR until emergency personnel arrive. Our classes here at SureFire CPR proudly follow current guidelines to ensure you receive the most up-to-date CPR training during COVID-19.
Why Choose Surefire CPR?
In the midst of a pandemic, having essential emergency-response skills like CPR can help medical professionals and civilians save lives. Thankfully, you don’t have to put yourself at risk to renew your CPR training during COVID-19. At SureFire CPR, we make it easy. Our renewal courses are completed mostly online, with only a short skills test conducted on-site at our clean, state-of-the-art facilities. There, you will receive 1-on-1 proctoring from one of our highly-skilled safety professionals while wearing proper PPE. We continuously disinfect all equipment and high-contact areas and require students to wash their hands at arrival. With the completion of ACLS or PALS you will also receive continuing education units to help with your professional license renewal requirements.
So, why choose us to renew your CPR training during COVID-19? For one, we have some of the finest staff in the emergency response industry. This has helped create effective and engaging renewal courses that really work. With us, you gain skills that stick with you. Based in Southern California, our team has been featured on NBC 4 and ABC 7 and fully endorsed by the American Heart Association. Committed to excellence, we’ve helped further the careers of doctors, nurses, paramedics, childcare professionals, and countless civilians across our Southern California community. Ready to take action? Contact our team to learn more about our award-winning courses and enroll with us — and be sure to keep up on the latest COVID-19 updates right here on our website.
