More than 70 Dougherty County School System bus drivers gathered Thursday morning to learn a lifesaving skill – CPR. Cardiac arrests can happen to anyone at any time and knowing how to react can save lives. “At least twice a day, bus drivers are responsible for our children. Emergency first aid training will give them the confidence and skills needed to handle potential medical emergencies that may arise on their bus,” said Shaquana Carr, LPN, Phoebe Network of Trust School Nurse.

Phoebe school nurses have a long history partnering with the Dougherty County School System to help ensure students are safe and healthy. In continuing that initiative, Network of Trust organized the training for Thursday and Friday, giving the opportunity for nearly 150 bus drivers to attend one of the sessions. During the training, the drivers learned how to administer CPR, use an automated external defibrillator (AED), an EpiPen and how to recognize and care for asthma emergencies.

“This training benefits our community at large as well. 150 bus drivers will now join the other hundreds of school system employees whom we regularly train, that work and live right here in our community. Knowing these skills is beneficial even outside their work environments,” added Carr.

According to the American Heart Association, 70 percent of Americans may feel helpless to act during a cardiac emergency because they either do not know how to administer CPR or their training has significantly lapsed. In an effort to change that statistic in southwest Georgia, Phoebe’s Network of Trust is dedicated to ensuring the community is heart-healthy and offers HeartSaver® CPR classes to the community regularly.