Code Red CPR Services Has Plan to Be on Call for Training Needs

When it's time to secure or renew CPR certification, finding aclass may not be so easy. Deah Waters and Sabrina Wolfe have seen that need andplan to meet it with their new Columbia-based business.

Their fledgling business, Code Red CPR Services, will fill a gapby offering CPR training or renewal on a rush basis, says Waters, founder andcertified CPR instructor who also works in neuroscience in a hospital setting.Nurses and other health care professionals must renew their CPR certificationevery two years.

"Those two years fly by," says Sabrina Wolfe, Code Redco-founder and a registered nurse. While some hospitals offer classes for theirstaff, it may be difficult to find a spot. Wolfe, who works as a travel nurse,has found there are many CPR instructors but most of them stay booked up.

"We plan to offer rush order CPR training," Waters says.For renewal of training, the person could request it 24 hours in advance andcomplete the written portion online. Then the next day, the hands-on trainingwould be held for quick completion. The hands-on portion includes checkingcompression rate, use of the AED (automated external defibrillator), andbreaths. Both Waters and Wolfe are certified CPR trainers, either through theAmerican Red Cross or the American Heart Association.

Beyond the hospitals and nursing profession, having CPR certifiedemployees on hand is important in many other settings. Waters listed dentists’ offices,school districts, day cares, bars and restaurants, grocery stores, gasstations, law firms, and manufacturing plants as locations where the trainingis either already required or should be.

After all, anywhere at any time, a person can go into cardiacdistress and need to be revived. "The football player whose heart hadto be restarted on the field played this up," Wolfe says. A young and healthyBuffalo Bills player, Damar Hamlin, went into cardiac arrest after a hit to thechest in January but was successfully revived by use of CPR and adefibrillator.

Code Red CPR Services has an agreement to recertify RichlandSchool District One'scoaches and teachers this summer, Waters says.

A major expense for the business is equipment such as CPRpractice dummies, as well as marketing materials. Code Red CPR Services iscompeting in the Inaugural $30K PowerUp competition for startup companies inSouth Carolina. Presented by Integrated Media Publishing and Eric Weir, thecompetition offers entrepreneurs an opportunity to win a grant from $5,000 to$15,000.

"We heard about the program on social media," explainsWaters. "We are both very excited to launch our business."

Wolfe says they plan to set up their classes with moreopportunity for one-on-one training to make it less stressful. "Whenyou have an actual emergency, no matter how much training you’ve had, it's still a shock," she says.

Scheduled for the summer is a Baby Sitting and Advanced ChildCare Certification class for ages 11 to 15. It will include CPR training foruse on young children and basic safety, including what to do if a child ischoking. Anyone who babysits on a military base is required to be certified inCPR, Waters says.

Other services Code Red CPR plans to offer are Basic First AidCertification, Advanced Life Support Certification and Pediatric Advanced LifeSupport Certification, as well as swimming and water safety.

Waters says she worked at a job fair for elementary schoolstudents and found them enthusiastic to learn CPR and first aid. She and Wolfehope to secure a van that can be equipped to offer pop-up CPR classes atlocations that will be posted on their website,https://coderedcprsservices.my.canva.site/coderedcprservices. The website is onGoogle and Yelp so that customers can find it.

The potential territory for Code Red CPR Services is the entirestate of South Carolina, as well as Georgia and North Carolina. The companyneeds to purchase training dummies (adult, child, infant), AED equipment,practice skill masks and other training materials. It does not yet have abusiness location.

Code Red CPR Services can be reached by phone at 803-293-5030 orby email at [email protected]

Waters and Wolfe have been friends since their high school yearsin Columbia. "We work well together," Wolfe says. "Welisten to each other."

Wolfe, who has experience training in her work, looks forward toteaching. "I’m young but still have a lot of experience. I know what's importantfor them to know. It'seasier to learn when you are not so nervous."