‘This could save lives’: Seminole County residents learn CPR at Action Church

Some Seminole County residents are extra ready for cases of emergency.

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They joined a hands-only CPR training organized by Action Church in Winter Park on Saturday.

Like most things in life, preparation is key, and the Action Church is taking that old saying to the next level in Seminole County. “Our partnership with the Fire Department is one of our favorite partnerships,” said Tina Commesso, from Action Church. “I was able to be at one of their events, and I knew how important it was, and I wanted to bring it here to the church.”

The plan is to have church members and staff prepared in case of an emergency, and more than 100 people attended to the training. “We believe in serving our community but also having our team here prepared for an emergency in case there was one,” said Commesso.

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Since 2017, more than 55,000 Seminole County residents learned CPR through the “Save a Life Seminole,” an initiative that came from the Fire Department. “Teaching these individuals emergency skills and giving hands-only CPR doubles or even triples the success rate in bringing these individuals back who are having an emergency crisis,” said Lieutenant Anthony Bowman with the Seminole County Fire Department.

On manikins, volunteers learned how to compress, release, and even the correct speed to perform hands-only CPR, making sure they are ready if needed.

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“This could save lives,” said Lieutenant Bowman. “They will be able to get to the patients faster, and be able to deliver quality CPR to the patients to have a higher success rate. Then we respond to the scene and are able to take over and that drastically increases their chances of survival.”

This is just one of the many events the Action Church has in partnership with the Seminole County Fire Department. The next one is a big back to school giveaway set for August 3rd at two different Action Church locations – Winter Park and Sanford. There will be events all throughout the morning, food, and games for the kids.

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As many as 1,500 children are expected to attend.

Registration is encouraged but not required , Seminole County Schools and Health Department are also part of the initiative.

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