CUIMC and NYP Join Hands with AHA to Bring Lifesaving Skills to Northern Manhattan Community

Since May of 2022, over 600 Northern Manhattan residents have been trained in lifesaving interventions, including hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automatic external defibrillator (AED) administration, thanks to a joint effort of Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP), and the American Heart Association (AHA) known as Community Development-Resuscitation Education, AED, and CPR Training (CD-REACT).

The goal of CD-REACT is to empower local residents of Washington Heights/Inwood, Harlem, and the South Bronx with practical first-aid skills. The events have also offered an opportunity to speak with neighbors about the challenges facing the community and the fears of encountering a loved one or stranger experiencing cardiac arrest, overdose, or serious bleeding. With their take-home CPR Anytime Kits and certificates in hand, participants muse about hosting trainings at holidays, barbecues, and other gatherings.

History of the effort

CD-REACT was originally founded by Sachin Agarwal, MD, MPH, associate professor of neurology (neuro critical care), under the guidance of Shunichi (Nick) Homma, MD, chief medical officer of ColumbiaDoctors, as ColumbiaDoctors–REACT, an effort that trained more than 300 staff members at outpatient ColumbiaDoctors affiliates. Community Development-REACT is now training Northern Manhattan community members in lifesaving skills in partnership with the Office of Community Service Programs, led by Rafael A. Lantigua, MD, professor of medicine and associate dean for community service at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, and through collaborations across CUIMC schools. “One of the missions of our office is to bring education to the community. This service-learning opportunity allows us to collaborate with internal and external partners to fulfill this objective,” Dr. Lantigua said.

With the support of the AHA, participants receive a free CPR Anytime® Kit and certificate of participation upon completion of the training. Each compact kit includes a learning manikin (either infant or adult/child), English and Spanish DVD and pamphlet for hands-only CPR and AED use, and a call-to-action: “Learn. Practice. Share.” The AHA estimates that for every infant kit distributed, participants train an 1.5 additional people, and 2.5 additional people are trained with every adult/child kit. Therefore, through both phases of CD-REACT, over 3000 people have been trained.

Dr. Agarwal lauded the AHA for its support: "AHA has also generously offered to provide train-the-trainer education for anyone involved in the program and financial support for larger CPR Anytime Kits for several community development programs organized by the Office of Community Service Programs.”

In trainings offered in both English and Spanish, Northern Manhattan residents learn and practice not only hands-only CPR and AED administration, but also naloxone administration for opioid overdose and STOP THE BLEED® first aid. Kellie Bryant, DNP, associate professor of nursing and assistant dean of clinical affairs and simulation at Columbia School of Nursing, has incorporated the naloxone trainings into the program. She noted, “With opioid deaths increasing by forty-four percent from 2019-2020 in New York, it is more important than ever to get naloxone into as many hands as possible. The addition of naloxone training to the CD-REACT program has been a great collaboration that can save lives.” 

Through the efforts of DiLenny Roca-Dominguez, MPH, MS, CPH Tech, Program Manager for the Department of Epidemiology and Program Administrator of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids, National Program Office at the Mailman School of Public Health, youth participants have also learned about safety and injury prevention from bicycle and car accidents and drowning. Students, trainees, and faculty from across the medical center have volunteered at the trainings.

Impact

The more than 600 participants span ages thirteen through over eighty, and trainings have been held for groups of forty to one hundred at community centers, high schools, churches, and outside on Haven Plaza. The program also aims to gather insight into community needs through a survey which assesses knowledge, access, and concerns that community members may have with administering these lifesaving interventions. Fifty-five percent of participants report that they had never learned CPR while sixty-six percent had never learned how to use an AED. Sixty-two percent identify as Hispanic/Latino, over a quarter identify as Black, and half identify as women. This representation is important since research has shown that Black and Hispanic individuals and women are less likely to receive CPR in public from bystanders than their white and male counterparts (AHA Journals, May 2022; AHA Journals, August 2018).

In the trainings, as participants practice CPR and trainers give individual instruction, they sing along to “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees and other songs that mimic the cadence at which to administer CPR: 100-120 compressions per minute. One participant, Carmen Polanco, shared, “Me siento muy feliz porque nunca conocía el RCP, y ahora tengo experiencia para ayudar cuando hay una emergencia antes que llegen los profesionales. Me encantan los instructores y estoy muy agradecida por el curso.” [I feel so happy because I never knew CPR, and now I have the experience to help in an emergency before professionals arrive. I loved the instructors and I am grateful for the course.]

Community partnerships

Building upon our community partnerships has been critical to reaching the over 600 local residents. Our community partners have connected us with residents and have hosted and tirelessly promoted the trainings. We are grateful to The Armory Foundation; CCNY STEM Institute; the Chamber of Commerce of Washington Heights & Inwood; Community League of the Heights; Manhattan Community Board 12; Lang Youth Medical Program; Uptown Hub; elected officials Congressman Adriano Espaillat, Councilwoman Carmen De La Rosa, and Assemblyman Manny De Los Santos; among others.

To learn more, host a training, or volunteer as a trainer, please contact Carolyn Hirsch from CUIMC Office of Community Service Programs at ocsp-admin@cumc.columbia.edu or 212-305-9483. Trainings are offered in English and Spanish.