Basic Life Support (BLS)

The BLS Course trains participants to promptly recognize several life-threatening emergencies, give high-quality chest compressions, deliver appropriate ventilations and provide early use of an AED.
In the Instructor-led course, students participate in simulated clinical scenarios and learning stations. Students work with an AHA BLS Instructor to complete BLS skills practice and skills testing. Students also complete a written exam.

Course Content

• High-quality CPR for adults, children, and infants
• The AHA Chain of Survival, specifically the BLS components
• Use of an AED
• Effective ventilations using a barrier device
• Importance of teams in multirescuer resuscitation and performance as an effective team member during multirescuer CPR
• Relief of foreign-body airway obstruction (choking) for adults and infants

Advance Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)

Classroom Updated to Reflect 2015 Guidelines CPR & ECCAHA's ACLS Course has been updated to reflect new science in the 2015 American Heart Association Guidelines Update for CPR and Emergency Cardiovascular Care. This course builds on the foundation of lifesaving BLS skills, emphasizing the importance of continuous, high-quality CPR.
This advanced course highlights the importance of high-performance team dynamics and communication, systems of care, recognition and intervention of cardiopulmonary arrest, immediate post-cardiac arrest, acute dysrhythmia, stroke, and acute coronary syndromes (ACS).

Course Content

• Basic life support skills, including effective chest compressions, use of a bag-mask device, and use of an AED
• Recognition and early management of respiratory and cardiac arrest
• Recognition and early management of peri-arrest conditions such as symptomatic bradycardia
• Airway management
• Related pharmacology
• Management of ACS and stroke
• Effective communication as a member and leader of a resuscitation team

Pediatric Advanced Emergency Assessment, Recognition and Stabilization (PEARS)

The AHA's PEARS Course has been updated to reflect new science in the 2015 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC. In this classroom-based, Instructor-led course, students learn how to use a systematic approach to quickly assess, recognize the cause, and stabilize a pediatric patient in an emergency situation.
During PEARS, students interact with real patient cases, and realistic simulations and animations to assess and stabilize pediatric patients experiencing respiratory and shock emergencies, and cardiopulmonary arrest. PEARS prepares students to provide appropriate lifesaving interventions within the initial minutes of response until a child can be transferred to an advanced life support provider.
PEARS is for healthcare providers and others who might encounter pediatric emergency situations during their work, including:

• Physicians and nurses not specializing in pediatrics
• Nurse practitioners
• Physician assistants
• EMTs,
• Respiratory therapists
• Prehospital and in-facility healthcare providers (outside of critical-care areas)
• Outpatient clinic staff
• School-based providers
• Any other healthcare provider who infrequently sees critically ill or injured infants and children

Course Content

• Systematic pediatric assessment
• Recognition and stabilization of respiratory emergencies
• Recognition and stabilization of shock emergencies
• Recognition and stabilization of cardiopulmonary arrest
• Resuscitation team concept

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS)

The AHA's PALS Course has been updated to reflect new science in the 2015 AHA Guidelines Update for CPR and ECC. This classroom, Instructor-led course uses a series of videos and simulated pediatric emergencies to reinforce the important concepts of a systematic approach to pediatric assessment, basic life support, PALS treatment algorithms, effective resuscitation, and team dynamics. The goal of the PALS Course is to improve the quality of care provided to seriously ill or injured children, resulting in improved outcomes.

Course Content

• High-quality Child CPR AED and Infant CPR
• Recognition of patients who do and do not require immediate intervention
• Recognition of cardiopulmonary arrest early and application of CPR within 10 seconds
• Apply team dynamics
• Differentiation between respiratory distress and failure
• Early interventions for respiratory distress and failure
• Differentiation between compensated and decompensated (hypotensive) shock
• Early interventions for the treatment of shock
• Differentiation between unstable and stable patients with arrhythmias
• Clinical characteristics of instability in patients with arrhythmias
• Post-cardiac arrest management

Airway Management

Airway Management is a unique program designed to give students the chance to learn, practice and demonstrate their ability in applying many airway skills used in resuscitation. Students increase their awareness of various airway products and skills required. The course is designed into units, and some are optional, so facilitators can present the units that meet the students' needs.
The course provides training for:

• Healthcare providers whose occupation or volunteer activities require airway management skills
• Professionals in the field of resuscitation and airway management

Course Content

• Bag-mask ventilation and airway adjuncts
Optional:
• Laryngeal mask airway
• Esophageal-tracheal combitube
• Endotracheal tube
• Impedance threshold devise

ECG Pharmacology

The AHA's ECG & Pharmacology Course has been updated to reflect the 2010 AHA Guidelines for CPR and ECC. This classroom-based, Facilitator-led course is designed to improve electrocardiogram (ECG) recognition skills and pharmacology knowledge for treating cardiovascular emergencies.
This course is for healthcare professionals who participate in the management of cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies. This includes personnel in emergency response, emergency medicine, intensive care and critical care units such as physicians, nurses, paramedics, and others who require this specialized knowledge for their job.

Course Content

• Basic electrophysiology
• Normal ECG measurements
• Basic arrhythmias
• Administration of appropriate drugs within the ACLS algorithms