CSL Behring Trains Employees to Save Lives in Their Communities and Workplace with CPR; AHA Encourages Other Businesses to Do the Same

There are more than 350,000 cardiac arrests annually in the U.S.; nearly 90 percent are fatal but when CPR is administered immediately, chances of survival can triple.

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CSL Behring

Oct 12, 2017, 09:00 ET

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Oct. 12, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CSL Behring is taking its workplace wellness initiatives to a whole new level by providing the American Heart Association's (AHA) Hands-Only™ cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training to employees.

The Hands-Only CPR training program takes about 90 seconds to learn and can mean the difference between life and death for people who experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. The AHA estimates between 100,000 and 200,000 lives could be saved a year if CPR was administered immediately after cardiac arrest.

Today, CSL Behring is being recognized by the Lafayette Ambulance Squad for their outstanding efforts to train their workforce in this simple CPR. With the help of the AHA and the Lafayette Ambulance Squad (LAS), CSL Behring has trained 120 employees in King of Prussia and is conducting ongoing monthly sessions to train as many of its 1,000 on-site employees as possible.

"Every year we respond to hundreds of 911 calls involving people who have suffered cardiac arrest," said Ed Martin from LAS. "We get to the scene as quickly as possible, but a life can be lost in just a matter of minutes without immediate CPR.

"We're recognizing CSL Behring for their efforts to train their employees, but also to raise awareness of the importance of CPR training and to encourage more businesses and organizations to offer CPR trainings. It's not hard to do, and more people will survive cardiac arrest if more people are trained in CPR.

"We're honored to be recognized for our efforts to educate our employees about this simple lifesaving technique, and hope we can inspire other organizations in the Philadelphia area to do the same," said Dr. Karen Etchberger, CSL's Executive Vice President for Quality and Business Services.

Etchberger said the "Live Better" and Health, Safety and Environment teams at CSL Behring collaborated with LAS and AHA to train CSL Behring employees in basic Hands-Only CPR and use of automated external defibrillator (AED). The one-hour training program is a combination of hands-on instructor-led training and instructional videos.

"We wanted to provide employees with the necessary training so that they are able to help someone in cardiac distress, either at work or outside of work and potentially save someone's life," Etchberger added.

About Cardiac Arrest:
According to American Heart Association, cardiac arrest is defined as an electrical malfunction in the heart that causes an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) and disrupts the flow of blood to the brain, lungs and other organs. Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death. When a person has a cardiac arrest, survival depends on immediately receiving CPR from someone nearby.

About hands –only CPR:
Hands-only CPR has 2 basic steps: (1) call 9-1-1 if you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse; and (2) Push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of a familiar song that has 100 -120 beats per minute. Song examples are: "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees and "Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash. Visit heart.org/handsonlycpr to watch the hands only CPR instructional video.

About CSL Behring
CSL Behring is a global biotherapeutics leader driven by its promise to save lives. Focused on serving patients' needs by using the latest technologies, we develop and deliver innovative therapies that are used to treat coagulation disorders, primary immune deficiencies, hereditary angioedema, inherited respiratory disease, and neurological disorders. The company's products are also used in cardiac surgery, organ transplantation, burn treatment and to prevent hemolytic disease of the newborn.

CSL Behring operates one of the world's largest plasma collection networks, CSL Plasma. The parent company, CSL Limited (ASX: CSL; USOTC: CSLLY), headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, employs nearly 20,000 people, and delivers its life-saving therapies to people in more than 60 countries. For more information visit www.cslbehring.com and follow us on www.Twitter.com/CSLBehring.

SOURCE CSL Behring