According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 people experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year in the United States.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, can double — even triple — a person's chance of survival from such events.
Michelle Stephan, co-owner of Youth Athletics Recreation Development (YARD), teaches a CPR, first aid and automated external defibrillator (AED) training course on-site about every two to three months. Stephan also travels to businesses — such as Prestige Senior Living Rosemont — to certify staff in the training.
"Thurston County and Washington state have one of the highest save rates in the country because they moved from rescue breaths to compression only," Stephan said. "The science is now showing that you have enough — at least adults — have enough oxygen in their bloodstream, so just getting the compressions, the oxygen to the brain, is the important part. And it's really easy to teach, even to children. So, even little guys can use their feet, like if they're not strong enough to use their hands. And it's so important because it seems like you hear about kids that have drowned or things like that, and nobody knew what to do because, you know, they were with a bunch of other kids, and it's such a preventable thing."
Stephan says the Health and Safety Institute-approved class can be taught to children as young as 7 or 8 — or younger, as long as they have the attention span. The skills are important, Stephan says, in situations where they might be the only one who can help.
"We also talk about in this day and age when people are so focused on their phones, a lot of people will just want to start recording instead of actually getting in and helping," Stephan said. "So it's really important to just, no matter what age, take command of the situation, and people will listen because they kind of panic and freeze. So we talk about that, too, and how they realistically could be the one in charge and save someone's life."
Stephan, who teaches at Eagle View Christian School during the day, said she tries to identify needs in the community to help fill them the best way she can. It's part of a holistic philosophy cultivated alongside her husband and YARD co-owner, Dustin Stephan.
"At YARD, our mission is to really support the whole youth individual," Michelle Stephan said. "So that means academic, athletic and even with mental health (and) overall wellness. We honestly believe that even athletes are more than just athletes, right? And it's that whole piece of helping them realize their potential becoming productive members of society. We offer the sports aspect, we have the academic aspect, but we also have social things and other things to kind of help support them just as an individual, too."
