HOSA hosts another CPR training; hopes to increase number of participants

By Faith Jarrell

Student Life Editor

On Saturday, April 20, Washington College’s branch of HOSA for Future Health Professionals, formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America, held a CPR training session in the Johnson Fitness Center classroom at 6 p.m.

The event required those who wanted to participate to sign up, as there were only 20 slots available. After the first 20 slots were filled, those who signed up were put on a waitlist. According to one of the co-presidents of HOS, junior Caroline Drupka, each slot cost around $50, which the Student Government Association delegated money to HOSA, making the event free to those who signed up.  

“CPR training is important for everyone to learn,” Drupka said. “It is a valuable skill set that a person could end up using at any time; so offering this training at no cost to students allows for more people to have the ability to learn life-saving techniques.” 

Other co-president of HOSA, junior Andrea Norman emphasized how “crucial” CPR training can be.

“It equips students and faculty with life-saving skills. In emergency siuations, knowing how to perform CPR can make a significant difference in saving someone’s life. It’s an essential skill that everyone should have access to, especially in a campus setting where emergencies can occur,” Norman said. 

The Director of the Johnson Fitness Center Joshua Brown partnered with HOSA in order to help set up the event as he is also a trained Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor. 

Ahead of the in-person CPR training, there was an online portion of the training that students had to complete prior to attending the event. The online portion consisted of theoretical aspects as well as the basics of doing CPR itself. 

The in-person event, however, was more practical and hands-on, including CPR mannequins for participants to practice upon.

While the event was originally planned for Tuesday, April 9, the event to be pushed back until April 20 for scheduling reasons. 

Overall, Norman said that the event went “really well.”

“Participants seemed to enjoy the experience and there was a good turnout from both students and faculty,” Norman said. 

HOSA plans on continuing to offer the event, as they have in past years, bi-annually.

“We will be continuing to do this training every semester, so stay tuned. We were able to expand our capacity from 20 to 30 students so we can’t wait for more people to sign up,” Drupka said.

The executive board of HOSA not only wanted to thank those who came out to the event, but also to Joshua Brown for aiding in the CPR training. 

Elm Archive Photo

Photo Caption: On Saturday, April 20, HOSA hosted a CPR training event, open to 20 participants, in the Johnson Fitness Center classroom.

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