Did you know on average a person can only survive up to 6 minutes without oxygen to their brain and in the DC metro area it can take up to about 7-10 minutes for an ambulance to arrive on the scene? Hands-Only CPR can save a life.

REI Cares takes these statistics seriously and offered the opportunity for their employees to learn Hands-On CPR. The American Heart Association was on-site at REI Systems headquarters today and spent an hour educating employees on the importance of Hands-Only CPR. Employees got to hear stories about how quick reaction and CPR saved lives, they reviewed office emergency protocol and identified where to find important lifesaving tools, such as the building’s AED, and had the opportunity to practice Adult and Infant CPR on mannequins. Everyone put their new skill set to the test when challenged with doing one minute of compressions.

More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year in the United States and during that cardiac arrest, doing immediate CPR can double or even triple a person’s chance of survival. REI Systems is proud that we have equipped our employees with skills outside of the workplace that will keep us, our families, and even possibly a random stranger Stayin’ Alive..Stayin’ Alive.