Taking a First Aid or CPR Class in NY? Please stay safe!

Throughout this entire COVID-19 struggle, I’ve asked myself a lot of questions about how First Responders and Essential workers are able to take their essential CPR/BLS training? How could a course that requires them to be tactile with other people keep them safe? A lot of these unknowns got me wondering how and if these people would be able to take their CPR training during this entire process. As a daughter of First Responders, I have lived around CPR trainings, and have been a certified American Red Cross Lifeguard since 2013.

Given that group classes of any kind are illegal until the PAUSE is lifted, these questions are important. If someone cannot go take a CPR class, how do they stay employed? What happens to the people that expired within the PAUSE and cannot attend a course until the PAUSE lifts? As the date of June 13th comes closer, I wanted to know what people did.

I contacted Aquatic Solutions, the largest American Red Cross CPR and Lifeguard provider in the New York, and they were kind enough to provide information about what the American Red Cross programs are doing. They have 2 different certification tracts specifically for this situation. They have also provided extensions for Lifeguard and CPR/AED Pro certifications.

Provisional Certifications: This option has really good Pros and really strong Cons. It is a great option for people who do not require OSHA compliant certifications, and allows someone to obtain a 90-Day Online Certification. The idea behind this option is that if you need something immediate, but are worried about Congregate classes, you can become certified through their Online Content. Within those 90-Days, you are able to take the Hands-On training for a full 2-Year certification. It’s a great option for avoiding having to come into class during the middle of the pandemic, and it allows you to fulfill work requirements for jobs that accept it!

Pros: Immediate, Avoid having to take Hands-On training for 90 Days, Online Content is Solid

Cons: Not OSHA Compliant until you do Hands-On. Not all jobs accept it. Only For CPR, First Aid, or BLS. No option for Lifeguard.

Virtual Learning (Remote Courses): This option allows an Instructor to teach the course via Remote means. The Instructor and the student are not in the same room, and the instructor teaches the course through a web meeting. This allows the Instructor to teach the Hands-On portion without congregating, and it prevents Instructor-Student contact.

Pros: Allows Hands-On, can be One on One, No Contact between Instructor-Student

Cons: Logistically difficult (requires more than 1 device with camera), must make equipment accessible to students. Cannot do Lifeguard pool skills remotely.

My next question was, how successful were these programs? Were people taking Provisional classes? How do companies or Instructors deal with the logistics of Virtual courses?

I called the American Red Cross, however they do not provide metrics on how many people purchase which classes. Although anecdotal, I asked Aquatic Solutions how successful these options were for them. In speaking with Zach, a Director in charge of their Long Island Training division, I got some insight. “Provisional training has been a success in environments that accept it. A lot of people are scared and don’t want to take the risk of breaking the law by congregating for a CPR class, or even worse contract coronavirus. It’s helped people safely take safety training. That is the ultimate goal. Safety.”

As we approach the light at the end of the tunnel with the PAUSE scheduled to end on June 13th, we can hopefully put this tragedy behind us. We need to consider how people are coping with jobs that require training, and how the nature of their training is changed as a consequence to COVID-19. A shout-out too all the essential workers and first responders who keep us all safe in more ways than one.