AHA Courses
Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Professionals
Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) for Healthcare Professionals
Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) for Healthcare Professionals
Heartsaver Programs for “Lay Responders” or the general public
Family and Friends: informational, non-credential bearing, training
Two paths are offered to obtain the AHA’s 2 years credential, either the “Traditional” classroom program or the AHA’s “eLearning” program, combining an online, self-directed, multimedia program, with an in person/virtual hands-on Skills Session evaluated by an AHA Instructor.
*For group training in any of the below disciplines, please contact us at info@trainingforlife.org for a formal Quote.
Basic Life Support (BLS):
Designed for healthcare professionals and other personnel both prehospital and in-hospital providers who need to know how to perform CPR and other basic cardiovascular life support skills in a wide variety of in-facility and prehospital settings, such as (but not limited to):
- Doctors
- Physicians
- Surgeons
- Nurses
- Nurse Practitioners
- EMTs
- Paramedics
- Dentists
- Physical Therapists
Participants learn how to recognize and provide care in respiratory and cardiac emergencies for adults, children and infants, with specials emphasis on two-rescuer CPR use of the resuscitation mask, bag-valve mask and Automated External Defibrillator (AED). Techniques for minimizing the risk of disease transmission and for special resuscitation situations are included.
This course covers:
- High-quality CPR for adults, children, and infants
- The AHA Chain of Survival, specifically the BLS components
- Important early use of an AED
- Effective ventilations using a barrier device
- Importance of teams in multirescuer resuscitation and performance as an effective team member during multirescuer CPR
- Relief of foreign-body airway obstruction (choking) for adults and infants
Requirements:
(For Traditional Classroom Course):
- Written & Skills Test: Students must pass a multiple Choice exam and a hands on skills evaluation in order to qualify for their BLS Credential.
(For Blended Learning):
- Heartcode BLS: Prior to attending the in-person Skills Session, this online prerequisite must be completed.
Heartcode BLS uses a personalized adaptive algorithm that sets students on the most efficient path to BLS mastery. Students follow a continuously adapting learning path that is personalized by their own inputs: their performance and their self-reported confidence level related to each probe. The course content is presented in the form of self-directed learning content, probes, and Cognitive Assessment Activites.
The student has a choice of completing a pre-hospital or in-hospital contextualized track. After completing the online portion, students will attend a structured, Instructor-led hands-on session that focuses on meaningful skills practice, team scenarios, and skills testing.
The online “key” can be purchased upon registration here; if obtained outside of Training For Life, please print your successful completion certificate and bring it with you to class or submit it via email prior to attending.
BLS Classroom Course: Length 4 hrs.
BLS e-learning & Skills Session: Prerequisite uses Adaptive Learning; In Person Session 1 hr.
BLS Skills Session Only: Length 1 hr.
Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years.
*For group training, please contact us at info@trainingforlife.org for a formal Quote*
Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS):
Designed for advanced healthcare professionals, who direct or manage cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies; personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care, and critical care units such as (but not limited to):
- Nurses
- Nurse Practitioners
- Paramedics
- Physicians
- Physician’s Assistants
- Respiratory Therapists
The Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) course builds on the foundation of Basic Life Support (BLS) for Healthcare Providers skills, emphasizing the importance of continuous, high-quality CPR. This advanced course highlights the importance of team dynamics and communication, systems of care, and immediate post-cardiac arrest care. ACLS also covers airway management and related pharmacology.
The ACLS course is for healthcare professionals who either direct or participate in the management of cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies.
This includes personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care and critical care units such as physicians, nurses, and paramedics, as well as others who need an ACLS course completion card for job or other requirements.
This course covers:
- 1-Rescuer CPR and AED use
- Science Overview (Update Course)
- Team Dynamics
- BLS and ACLS Surveys
- Immediate Post-Cardiac Arrest Care
- Airway Management/Respiratory Arrest
- Peri-arrest Rhythms (Tachycardia, Bradycardia)
- Arrest Rhythms (VF, PVT, PEA, Asystole)
- Acute Coronary Syndromes (ACS)
- Stroke
- Megacode treatment
Requirements:
- Basic Life Support (BLS): If you do not currently have an up to date American Heart Association (AHA) BLS credential, you must take the course prior to attending the ACLS course.
Registration for BLS can be completed here; if you wish to complete them in the same day, please email us at info@trainingforlife.org and we will make every effort to accommodate.
- ACLS Precourse Self-Assessment and Precourse Work: Prior to attending the ACLS course, the Precourse Self-Assessment must be completed with a score of at least 70% and is available here.
The ACLS Precourse Work involves reviewing course content through online videos before entering the classroom. The video lessons cover multiple medical subjects and each lesson includes questions to engage and better prepare you to participate in the hands-on skills training.
Please print your successful completion certificate and bring it with you to class or submit via email prior to attending.
- Heartcode ACLS: *Required for Blended Learning Only* Prior to attending the in – person Skills Session, this online prerequisite must be completed.
HeartCode ACLS uses a personalized adaptive algorithm that sets students on the most efficient path to ACLS mastery. Students follow a continuously adapting learning path that is personalized by their own inputs: their performance and their self- reported confidence level related to each probe. The course content is presented in the form of self-directed learning content, probes, and Cognitive Assessment Activities.
With the new adaptive learning format, the timing for completing the online portion of HeartCode ACLS can vary depending on the student’s level of experience.
The online “key” can be purchased upon registration here; if obtained outside of Training For Life, please print your successful completion certificate and bring it with you to class or submit via email prior to attending.
ACLS Classroom Course: Length 16 hrs.
ACLS eLearning & Skills Session: Pre-requisite uses Adaptive Learning; In Person Session 3-4hrs.
ACLS Skills Session Only: Length 3-4 hr.
Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years.
*For group training, please contact us at info@trainingforlife.org for a formal Quote*
Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS):
Designed for advanced healthcare providers who respond to emergencies in infants and children and for personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care, and critical care units such as (but not limited to):
- Pediatricians
- Emergency room, family, and other physicians
- Physician assistants
- Nurses and nurse practitioners
- Intensive care and critical care providers
- Other providers required to initiate and direct advanced life support in pediatric emergencies
The goal of the PALS Course is to improve the quality of care provided to seriously ill or injured children, resulting in improved outcomes, using a series of videos and simulated pediatric emergencies to reinforce the important concepts of a systematic approach to pediatric assessment, basic life support, PALS treatment algorithms, effective resuscitation, and team dynamics.
The PALS course is for healthcare professionals who respond to emergencies in infants and children. This includes personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care and critical care units, such as physicians, nurses, paramedics and others who need a PALS course completion card for job or other requirements.
This course covers:
- High-quality Child CPR AED and Infant CPR
- Recognition of patients who do and do not require immediate intervention
- Recognition of cardiopulmonary arrest early and application of CPR within 10 seconds
- Apply team dynamics
- Differentiation between respiratory distress and failure
- Early interventions for respiratory distress and failure
- Differentiation between compensated and decompensated (hypotensive) shock
- Early interventions for the treatment of shock
- Differentiation between unstable and stable patients with arrhythmias
- Clinical characteristics of instability in patients with arrhythmias
- Post–cardiac arrest management
Requirements:
- Basic Life Support (BLS) Provider Credential; if you do not currently have an up to date American Heart Association (AHA) BLS credential, you must take the course prior to attending the ACLS course.
Registration for BLS can be completed here; if you wish to complete them in the same day, please email us at info@trainingforlife.org and we will make every effort to accommodate.
- PALS Precourse Self-Assessment and Precourse Work: Prior to attending the PALS course, the Precourse Self-Assessment must be completed with a score of at least 70% and is available here.
The PALS Precourse Work involves reviewing course content through online videos before entering the classroom. The video lessons cover multiple medical subjects and each lesson includes questions to engage and better prepare you to participate in the hands-on skills training.
Please print your successful completion certificate and bring it with you to class or submit it via email prior to attending.
- Heartcode PALS: *Required for Blended Learning Only* Prior to attending the in – person Skills Session, this online prerequisite must be completed.
HeartCode PALS uses a personalized adaptive algorithm that sets students on the most efficient path to PALS mastery. Students follow a continuously adapting learning path that is personalized by their own inputs: their performance and their self- reported confidence level related to each probe. The course content is presented in the form of self-directed learning content, probes, and Cognitive Assessment Activities.
With the new adaptive learning format, the timing for completing the online portion of HeartCode PALS can vary depending on the student’s level of experience.
The online “key” can be purchased upon registration here; if obtained outside of Training For Life, please print your successful completion certificate and bring it with you to class or submit it via email prior to attending.
PALS Classroom Course: Length 16 hrs.
PALS eLearning & Skills Session: Pre-requisite uses Adaptive Learning; In Person Session 3-4hrs.
PALS Skills Session: Length 3-4 hrs.
Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years.
*For group training, please contact us at info@trainingforlife.org for a formal Quote*
Heartsaver Courses
Designed for the “lay responder” wishing to have the skills needed to recognize the most common causes of death in adults and children (1 year and older), initiate emergency care, and provide CPR/AED, and or First Aid care while awaiting EMS, and receive a credential.
Each of the below programs yield an American Heart Association (AHA) credential, valid for two years.
If this credential is for employment, please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.
*For group training in any of the above courses, please contact us at info@trainingforlife.org for a formal Quote*
CPR/AED (Adult/Child/Infant*)
First Aid
Pediatric First Aid
K-12 Schools
CPR/AED:
Heartsaver CPR AED is geared for anyone with limited or no medical training who needs a course completion card in CPR and AED use to meet job, regulatory, or other requirements. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years. Please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.
This course covers:
- The Chain of Survival
- How high-quality CPR improves survival
- When someone needs CPR
- High-quality CPR for an adult/child*
- Effective breaths using with or without a barrier device
- How and when to use an AED on an adult/child*
- Describe when and how to help a choking adult/child*
Requirements:
(For Blended Learning Only):
- Heartsaver CPR AED Online: Prior to attending the in-person Skills Session, this online prerequisite must be completed.
Heartsaver CPR AED Online is the eLearning portion of the Heartsaver CPR AED Blended Learning Course and teaches information needed for CPR and AED training. Upon completion of the online portion, students must complete a hands-on skills session with an AHA Instructor.
Upon completion of the online portion, students must complete hands-on skills session with an AHA BLS or Heartsaver Instructor
The online “key” can be purchased upon registration here; if obtained outside of Training For Life, please print your successful completion certificate and bring it with you to class or submit it via email prior to attending.
*Optional “Infant Module” adds about 30 minutes to any given program, providing training specific to cardiac and respiratory emergencies for infants, under 1 year of age.
Infant Module (Optional):
This module covers:
- Infant CPR/AED
- Infant Choking Relief
The optional Infant Module can be added upon registration; when completing the eLearning, if the Infant module is selected, this portion of the online course must be completed to appear on your Certificate of Completion.
CPR/AED: Length 2 hrs. (add 30 min. if including option Infant Module)
CPR/AED eLearning & Skills Session: Prerequisite 1 hr.; In Person Session 1 hour
CPR/AED Skills Only: Length 1 hr.
First Aid:
Heartsaver First Aid is geared towards anyone with limited or no medical training who needs a course completion card in first aid to meet job, regulatory, or other requirements. Upon successful completion of the course, students receive a course completion card, valid for two years. Please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.
This course covers:
- Personal protection
- Activating emergency response (911)
- First aid kits and the basics
- Medical emergencies: stroke, seizures, cardiac events
- Injuries: bleeding, burns, sprains/strains, etc.
- Environmental hazards: hold/cold, insects, allergens
Requirements:
(For Blended Learning Only):
- Heartsaver First Aid Online: Prior to attending the in-person Skills Session, this online prerequisite must be completed.
Heartsaver First Aid Online is the eLearning portion of the Heartsaver First Aid Blended Learning Course and teaches information needed for first aid training. Upon completion of the online portion, students must complete a hands-on skills session with an AHA Instructor.
Upon completion of the online portion, students must complete hands-on skills session with an AHA BLS or Heartsaver Instructor.
First Aid: Length 3 hrs.
First Aid eLearning & Skills Session: Prerequisite 2 hrs; In Person Session 1 hour
First Aid Skills Session Only: Length 1 hrs.
Pediatric First Aid & CPR/AED:
Designed for those involved in childcare, with a duty to respond to illnesses and injuries in a child or infant in the first few minutes until professional help arrives. Including but not limited to:
- childcare workers
- teachers
- camp counselors
This Course Covers:
- injury
- poison
- environmental emergencies
- preventing illnesses and injuries
- controlling bleeding & bandaging
- using a tourniquet
- shock
- internal bleeding
- burns
- electrical injuries
- allergic reactions
- breathing problems
- dehydration
- diabetes & low blood sugar
- heat-and cold-related emergencies
- drowning
- amputations
- bites and stings
- broken bones and sprains
- splinters
- nose bleeds
- fainting
- seizures
- injuries to the head, eyes, neck, spine, mouth, and teeth
- CPR AED and choking
- CPR and AED use for Children, Infants and Adults*
- Choking relief for Children, Infants and Adults*
*Inclusion of Adult CPR/AED is optional if desired.
Requirements:
(For Blended Learning Only):
- Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid CPR AED Online: Prior to attending the in-person Skills Session, this online prerequisite must be completed.
Heartsaver Pediatric First Aid CPR AED Online is the eLearning portion of the Blended Learning Course. Upon completion of the online portion, students must complete a hands-on skills session with an AHA Instructor. Upon completion of the online portion, students must complete hands-on skills session with an AHA BLS or Heartsaver Instructor.
Pediatric First Aid & CPR/AED Classroom: Length 5 hrs., without optional modules
Pediatric First Aid & CPR/AED eLearning & Skills Session: Prerequisite 3 hrs.; In Person Session 1 hour
Pediatric First Aid CPR Skills Only: Length 1 hr.
K-12 for Schools:
Exclusively for K-12 students, faculty, and staff, this course conveys the same fundamental curriculum as outlined in the above Heartsaver CPR/AED and First Aid courses, with greater flexibility, and customizable with optional modules.
K-12 CPR/AED
This course covers:
- The Chain of Survival
- How high-quality CPR improves survival
- When someone needs CPR
- High-quality CPR for an adult/child*
- Effective breaths using with or without a barrier device
- How and when to use an AED on an adult/child*
- Describe when and how to help a choking adult/child*
K-12 First Aid:
This course covers:
- Personal protection
- Activating emergency response (911)
- First aid kits and the basics
- Medical emergencies: stroke, seizures, cardiac events
- Injuries: bleeding, burns, sprains/strains, etc.
- Environmental hazards: hold/cold, insects, allergens
K-12 CPR/AED: Length 2 hrs.
K-12 First Aid: Length 3 hrs.
Each of the above programs yield an American Heart Association (AHA) credential, valid for two years.
If this credential is for employment, please contact your employer to ensure that you are selecting the correct course.
*For group training in any of the above courses, please contact us at info@trainingforlife.org for a formal Quote*
CPR for Family and Friends
This course is designed for the "lay responder" and includes anybody wishing to obtain these lifesaving skills!
Covering much of the same information as the above HeartSaver CPR/AED course, this program is intended for anyone wishing to learn CPR, but not in need of a credential, ideal for community groups, parents, grandparents, caregivers, schools and students.
The Family & Friends CPR Course teaches the lifesaving skills of adult Hands-Only CPR, adult CPR with breaths, child CPR with breaths, adult and child AED use, infant CPR, and mild and severe airway block for adults, children, and infants. Skills are taught in a dynamic group environment using the AHA’s research-proven practice-while-watching technique, which provides students with the most hands-on CPR practice time possible.
This Course Covers:
- Adult Hands-Only CPR and AED
- Adult CPR With Breaths (Optional)
- Mild and Severe Airway Block, Adult (Optional)
- Child CPR and AED (Optional)
- Mild and Severe Airway Block, Child (Optional)
- Infant CPR (Optional)
- Mild and Severe Airway Block, Infant (Optional)
Family & Friends CPR is a classroom-based course that can be taught by an AHA Instructor or led by a facilitator (a community member, family member, or friend) who wishes to share the lifesaving skills of CPR with others. This course is video-led and includes skills practice throughout the course. Skills are taught by using the AHA’s research-proven practice-while-watching technique, which allows participants to practice on a CPR training manikin while skills are demonstrated in the course video.
Following are approximate times for each module:
Adult Hands-Only CPR/Adult CPR with Breaths/AED/Choking: approximately 39 minutes
Child CPR/AED/Choking: approximately 27 minutes
Infant CPR/Choking: approximately 21 minutes
*Please Note: This is a non-credential bearing course; if a credential is needed, see the Heartsaver Programs
While sessions are not listed in our Course Calendar, if you are interested in visiting our office for a Friends and Family course please email us at info@trainingforlife.org for scheduling and pricing.
AED, PAD, & HEARTSAFE PROGRAMS
"Our People Are Our Greatest Asset"
That phrase has been uttered in boardrooms & conference rooms all across the world by companies of every size. Why? Because it's true!
Thousands die each year when they experience one of the Primary Causes of Death while at work:
The first step to protecting your company's most precious resource is to provide routine preparedness training and make emergency equipment (AED & First Aid Kit) available for use.
Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Programs are composed of the following:
Heart Safe Communities have been created across the country and may offer victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest & Stroke a greater chance of survival.
Heartsafe Community or Facility is a designation given to those that have:
Potentially offering victims of a second chance at life, Heart Safe Communities have been created across the country
Having AEDs strategically placed along with trained (CPR/AED) citizens, wherever people gather in large numbers to live, work and play, greatly enhances the ability of Emergency Medical Services to stabilize and transport victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest to the hospital for Advanced Care.
On average, there is less than a 5% survival rate in Sudden Cardiac Arrest occurring outside the hospital setting. SCA is responsible for the deaths of 300,000 Americans annually. In communities where a Heart Safe Program has been successfully implemented, see above, the out-of-hospital SCA survival rate rises to nearly 80%.
Participating Communities will receive ongoing support and guidance from Training For Life, Inc., an award-winning American Heart Association Training Center, ensuring the quality and sustainability of the program:
Heartsafe Communities or Facilities provide their residents with a safer place to live. A place where one of the primary causes of death in the United States, Sudden Cardiac Arrest, is recognized and fought with the most recent advances in technology.
What is an Automated External Defibrillator (AED)?
An electronic medical device able to check the rhythm of a person’s heart. It can recognize rhythms that are “non-productive” and require an electrical shock. It can advise the rescuer to remain clear/safe, and when to deliver the shock using voice prompts, lights, and text messages.
In tandem with CPR, maintaining oxygen rich blood flow to the heart, lungs, and brain, the AED offers the greatest chance of survival from Cardiac Arrest.
Why are AEDs important?
Cardiac Arrest occurs in a diseased heart's electrical system, nearly 300,000 times annually in the United States alone, according to the American Heart Association.
Where should AEDs be?
Like fire extinguishers, a better question is where shouldn’t they be?
The AHA reports that nearly 80% of the Cardiac Arrests experienced in the US occur in the home. We also spend a significant amount of time at school and in the workplace. AEDs “should” be in all high traffic/population areas, making them “HeartSafe”.
What is a Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Program?
Depending on the State, AED deployed anywhere accessible by any member of the public (basically anywhere outside of a private residence or vehicle) are considered Public Access Defibrillation and must comply with certain requirements, most commonly:
1. Deploy an AED meeting the most current technological specifications
2. Nationally recognized CPR/AED training for Organizational Responders
3. Physician Oversight, ensuring Quality Assurance for the State:
4. Program Oversight:
What is a HeartSafe Program?
While an informal term; HeartSafe identifies a facility, community, building, etc. that has established a proper Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) program, as discussed above.
Recognition of a facility or site’s “HeartSafe” designation may be publicized through press release, involvement of local elected officials representing the location, and the placement of fabricated or ready‑made signs and stickers, etc.
A well run “HeartSafe” program can result in a Cardiac Arrest survival rate to nearly 80% (AHA).
CERT Training
About CERT…
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, using the model created by the Los Angeles City Fire Department, began promoting nationwide use of the Community Emergency Response Team CERT concept in 1994. Since then, CERTs have been established in hundreds of communities.
CERT training promotes a partnering effort between emergency services and the people that they serve. The goal is for residents, community organizations, & businesses to train in basic response skills and form cohesive Teams. CERT members are then integrated into the existing emergency response capability for their area.
If a disastrous event overwhelms or delays the community's professional response, CERT members can assist others by applying the basic response and organizational skills that they learn during training. These skills can help save and sustain lives following a disaster until help arrives. CERT skills also apply to daily emergencies:
Thousands of Fires & Nearly 400,000 Cardiac Arrests Each Year`
CERT members maintain and refine their skills by participating in exercises and activities. They can attend supplemental training opportunities offered by the sponsoring agency and others that further their skills base. Finally, CERT members can volunteer for projects that improve community emergency preparedness.
CERT Training will teach participants to…. Describe the types of hazards most likely to affect their homes and communities.