FAQ

Yes!  Our courses are accredited by the American Safety & Health Institute (ASHI) which is a nationally recognized company whose emergency care training and professional continuing education programs are currently accepted, approved or recognized as meeting the requirements of more than 7,000 state and federal regulatory agencies, occupational licensing boards, national associations, commissions and councils in more than 550 occupations and professions.

The American Heart Association (AHA) is a non-profit company providing courses, the same as ASHI or the American Red Cross, and as such do not have the power or authority to approve any curriculum other than their own.  AHA is the American liaison to the ECC/ILCOR. This international committee scientifically decides the best way to perform CPR and each liaison brings this science back to their country to provide guidelines. These guidelines are then taken by several different groups who each form their own curriculum, or way to teach these guidelines.  All of our courses follow the most up to date AHA recommendations and are widely accepted.

Each individual employer is free to require you to obtain certification from any agency of their choosing.  Therefore, if there is a question as to whether your employer will accept a particular certification, it is imperative that you verify their requirements prior to completing any course.  If your employer is unsure about our curriculum or if it would meet their requirements, we would be happy to discuss the curriculum or send them course materials for review.

Our course is approved by or meets the standards of:

• VA DSS
• OSHA
• VA Dept of Education
• VA Board for Barbers and Cosmetology (including tattoo artists)
• DMHMRSAS (for all mental health providers)
• VA Office of EMS
• VA Dept of Health
• VA Board of Dentistry
• VA nursing home staff
• Board of Optometry
• VA Dept of Labor and Industry/Safety and Health Codes Board
• VA Massage Therapists
• US Exercise Instructors
• Girl Scouts of America (leaders)
• US FAA
• US Ski Patrol Staff
• YMCA Lifeguards
• National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians
• and many more!!

We require a minimum of 4 people for our traditional (all in person) courses and at least 2 people for our blended courses.  Availability and course minimums may change based on availability, course(s) required, and location.

Blended training is a method of presenting a course via two different parts.  The first consists of the course videos and test questions (if applicable), followed by an in-person training with one of our instructors where the skills from the course videos are practiced.   This method minimized the face-to-face time required and also allows for part of the course to be done at your convenience.

For businesses, we generally offer net 30 terms on our courses.  Feel free to pay the instructor on the day of training, or we would be happy to send an invoice for payment later if that would be more convenient.

Yes, we require payment for our open enrollment classes at the time of registration.  Because our classes have a student limit, we enroll students on a first-come, first-serve basis, and if we held spaces for people who didn’t pay and reached our maximum, we’d have to turn away individuals/companies who were willing to prepay for that seat in the class.  We have also learned that non-prepaid reservations have a much lower course completion rate as compared to those that pre-pay.

There has never been a successful suit brought against someone performing CPR.  The code of Virginia (HB2097) provides an exception of liability to anyone who “in good faith, renders emergency care or assistance, without compensation, to any ill or injured person at the scene of an accident, fire, or any life-threatening emergency”.  This law was enacted to encourage bystanders to assist those in need but does not cover professional healthcare providers acting in the course of their professional duties, or if you are “grossly negligent’ or completely careless in the delivery of assistance.

Yes, when compressing properly on someone’s chest, injuries including rib fractures are an expected side effect.  This should not deter you from performing “hard and fast” compressions as the benefits of compressions far outweigh the risks.  Remember, if someone is in cardiac arrest and you do nothing, they will almost certainly die.

Yes!  All of the courses we teach meet, or exceed OSHA regulations.

No, the “Good Samaritan Law” in Virginia provides an exemption of liability for anyone who “operates an AED at the scene of an emergency, trains individuals to be operators of AEDs, or orders AEDs”.  And further protects anyone who “maintains an AED located on real property owned or controlled by such person shall be immune from civil liability for any personal injury that results from any act or omission in the use in an emergency of an AED located on such property unless the injury results from gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct of the person who maintains he AED or his agent or employee” (SS 8.01-225)

We provide all the necessary equipment and materials to conduct a class including any AV equipment.  The only things we require are chairs for participants and an electrical outlet.

Yes!  We are an approved training site for the DSS MAT curriculum for child care providers and private school staff.  We offer the traditional (full day) MAT training, as well as the MAT IS (blended training), and AMAT courses.