In South Florida, thanks to a generous donation from Rick Case Automotive Group, the American Heart Association Greater Miami/Fort Lauderdale has CPR Anytime Training Kits available to non-profits, schools, hospitals and city governments in Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
“This is a story about the impact that the distribution of these CPR kits has on our South Florida community,” said Rita Case, President and CEO of Rick Case Automotive Group. “This is a multi-year, very effective and truly lifesaving initiative. Statistics show that 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital and 90% of people of all ages who suffer cardiac arrest outside of the hospital die. However, if CPR is administered within the first few minutes, there is an 80% survival rate. Every second counts.”
According to the American Heart Association, in order to save more lives from the 350,000 cardiac arrests that occur outside of the hospital every year, the number of people who respond to cardiac arrest by calling 911 must increase, they must have access to high-quality CPR, and they must get and use an AED as soon as it is available. The importance of CPR kits cannot be overstated, particularly for children and infants. More than 23,000 children experience cardiac arrest outside of the hospital each year with 40% related to sports and nearly 20% are infants. Unfortunately, infant mortality rates in Broward County are on the rise, and the county leads the state with those numbers. Cardiac arrest accounts for 10 to 15% of sudden unexpected infant deaths.
Broward County Impact
Thanks to the donation from Rick Case Automotive Group in Broward County:
- 750 CPR training kits, including infant, child and adult kits, will be distributed throughout Broward County hospitals and NICUs over the next three years. CPR training kits have already been gifted to Broward Health and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.
- Entities receiving kits include City of Sunrise’s Community Fire Rescue team and Summer BreakSpot, which staff will use to train summer campers.
- In an ongoing program, CPR in Schools Training Kits have been donated to Broward County Public Schools.
- Broward Healthy Start Coalition of Broward County received 1,000 CPR training kits to distribute to families across Broward County.
- Through Broward Community & Family Health Centers, the Northwest Gardens Housing Authority in Fort Lauderdale will utilize the kits to enable community members and staff to become CPR certified.
- The plan for the Broward County Public Library system is to establish a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan in all libraries.
- Children’s Services Council of Broward County’s Broward AWARE! campaign, which promotes childhood safety and wellbeing and seeks to prevent child abuse, has received 10 CPR training kits that they are currently utilizing.
Miami-Dade County Impact
In Miami-Dade County, staff at libraries on several Miami-Dade College campuses will teach students the hands-only CPR technique and the City of Hialeah will train civilian staff at the fire department, city employees and community members.
“I am committed to ensuring that more families have the training, the tools and the confidence to act,” said Case, a member of the Nation of Lifesavers. “Together we can save lives.”
In support of Nation of Lifesavers, the easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions in the American Heart Association’s CPR Anytime Training Kit allows anyone, even children as young as five years old, to learn how to go from bystander to lifesaver in only 30 minutes. To put this into perspective, a half hour tutorial can extend the life of someone who goes into cardiac arrest by years. When a doctor or nurse isn’t in the house, anyone with CPR training can jump in rather than wait until paramedics arrive on the scene.
“We are so incredibly appreciative to Rita and her team for their continued support as we look forward to everyone learning CPR and joining our Nation of Lifesavers. Distributing these kits will go a long way in making that happen,” said Marisol Vera, Executive Director, American Heart Association Greater Miami/Fort Lauderdale. “Since we launched Nation of Lifesavers two years ago, we have seen a 6% increase in bystander confidence to perform any type of CPR, up from 33% to 39%. This progress is largely due to our emphasis on Hands-Only CPR.”
About The Rick Case Automotive Group
Founded in 1962, the Rick Case Automotive Group has been honored by Automotive News as the National All-Star Dealer and President and CEO Rita Case was named the 2024 TIME Dealer of the Year. Rick Case Automotive Group is the nation’s largest female owned and operated automotive dealer group in America, offering Honda, Hyundai, Genesis, Ioniq, Volkswagen, Kia, Acura, Audi, Mazda, Maserati, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Honda Motorcycles and E-Z-Go golf carts. Celebrating more than 60 years in business, the Rick Case Automotive Group has 12 dealerships in South Florida and Georgia. The South Florida dealerships are known for holding national sales records, consistently ranking among the top performers in markets they serve. Rick Case Automotive Group is headquartered at 14500 W. Sunrise Blvd. in Sunrise, Florida. For more information, visit www.RickCase.com.