Local Organizations Team Up To Create A Community Of Lifesavers

DULUTH, Minn. — Every year about 350,000 people suffer a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital and around 90% do not survive.

That is why the American Heart Association is partnering with St. Luke’s to distribute CPR kits throughout the Northland. And June 1 is also the start of National CPR Awareness Week.

The first step in getting life-saving kits out to organization was bringing 5 kits to the Duluth Area Family YMCA.

A spokesperson for the Y spoke about what they plan on doing with the kits.

“We plan to bring them to outreach events and use them for CPR demonstrations. We can make them available for our staff to practice their CPR skills as needed. Every staff member that is a staff member of the Duluth Y is required to have a CPR certification, but if you don’t use it you lose the information so having these will help keep those skills fresh in the front of our brains,” said Cheryl Podtburg, YMCA Risk Safety Manager.

The Y was where one survivor was saved, he spoke about how anyone can go into cardiac arrest.

“That morning as I walked into the Y, I thought I was in perfect health. A normal day for me started with a 3-mile hike,” said Tom Malterer, CPR Survivor. “I’m here today because the YMCA made the decision to have a cardiac defibrillator onsite, and they mandated that employees know how to use it.”

If you’re interested in applying your organization to receive a CPR training kit, click here.