Red Cross health and safety courses: October-December 2009

The Sheboygan County Chapter of the American Red Cross will be offering a variety of classes to the community. Classes are held at the Red Cross office located at 2032 Erie Ave., Sheboygan.

To register for classes, persons can register in person at the Sheboygan County Chapter office or call 457-7739 for a registration form.

Participants in day classes are asked to bring a bag lunch to class that day.

Below is a listing of classes available to the general public.

Schools and Community CPR and First Aid offers possible certification in Adult, Infant, and Child CPR, First Aid, and Adult/Child AED. The course length is approximately 10 hours.

Individuals are taught how to recognize emergencies and care for breathing and cardiac emergencies in infants, children and adults. Participants also learn how to perform first aid for cuts, scrapes, bruises, burns, bleeding, sprains, strains, and sudden illness. AED certification is an optional add-on.

The class fee includes the text and all materials. The option of attending one or two nights will depend upon certification desired. The class is held two days from 6-10 p.m. Tuesdays, Oct. 13 and 20, and from 6-10 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 10 and 11. For December classes, see workplace SFA.

Workplace Standard First Aid offers possible certifications in Adult CPR, AED, and First Aid. The total course length is approximately six hours.

This course trains individuals to overcome any reluctance to act in an emergency situation and to recognize and care for life-threatening emergencies, such as respiratory or cardiac problems, sudden illness, and injury.

The class fee includes the price of booklet and skill cards. The class is divided into two nights (with attendance matched with certification desired) on the following dates: Thursdays, from 6-10 p.m. Oct. 1 and 6-9 p.m. Oct. 8; Wednesday, from 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Nov. 18; Tuesdays, 6 p.m. (Adult) Dec. 1, 6 p.m. (First Aid) Dec. 8, and 6 p.m. (Infant and Child) Dec. 15.

CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer offers the certification: CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer. The length of the course is approximately eight hours.

This course will be using the ECC 2005 standards to teach those with a duty to respond the skills needed for respiratory and cardiac emergencies. Participants will learn one- and two-rescuer resuscitation skills for Adult, Infant and Child and the use of resuscitation masks, bag valve and AED (automatic external defibrillator).

This class will be offered from 6-10 p.m. Wednesdays, Oct. 7 and 14; 6-10 p.m. Mondays, Nov. 2 and 9; and 6-10 p.m. Wednesdays, Dec. 9 and 16.

CPR review classes

The CPR Review class offers certification in Adult, Infant and Child CPR. The course lasts approximately four hours. If you only need certification in Adult CPR, you can attend the first two hours of class and leave after taking the test.

The CPR Review class will be held Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 6-10 p.m.; Wednesday, Nov. 4, 6-10 p.m.; and Monday, Dec. 14, from 6-10 p.m.

If certification is needed, an additional fee is added.

CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer Review offers certification in CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer. The length of the class is approximately four hours.

The ECC 2005 standards are taught. To meet the new standards, all participants are required to become AED certified. Participants may rent or purchase a book, but each participant must have their own resuscitation mask for use in the class. If you do not have your own resuscitation mask, you may purchase one from the chapter.

The class is offered Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 6-10 p.m.; Monday, Nov. 16, from 6-10 p.m.; and Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 6-10 p.m.

CPR Challenges offers certifications in Adult, Infant, and Child CPR, AED, and CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer.

This class is for individuals who have taken CPR several times. No DVD or Review is covered. Participants must be able to demonstrate the skills without prompting as well as pass the written test without any review from the instructor. Advance registration is required.

The class will be held Friday, Oct. 9, from 8:30 a.m. to completion; Friday, Nov. 13, 8:30 a.m. to completion; and Friday, Dec. 11, 8:30 a.m. to completion.

Specialty courses:

Instructor training

Fundamentals of Instructor Training (FIT) is a prerequisite class to enter the instructor classes.

This course provides the history, structure, and activities of the American Red Cross. FIT introduces instructor candidates to the policies and procedures of the American Red Cross to ensure course consistency, quality, and appropriate training.

The class will be held Thursday, Oct. 8, from 6-9 p.m.

First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor offers certification in Lay Responder First Aid and CPR/AED.

Prerequisites for the course are the following: 1) Possess a FIT certificate; 2) complete a written pretest exam with a score of 80 percent and demonstrate competency in skills evaluation; and 3) must be 17 years old.

Thursday, Oct. 8, the class will start immediately after the FIT class to 9 p.m. Thursdays, Oct. 8, 15, 22 and 29 and Nov. 5, the class will be held from 6-10 p.m.

If class participants are interested, the Red Cross would offer the CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer Instructor course as an add-on to the FA/CPR/AED Instructor class. The CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer class would begin Friday morning at 8 a.m. and continue until noon. An extra fee would be charged.