Brady's Roadhouse

Citizens of Greene County, or anyone that is in the local area, have the opportunity to become CPR and first-aid certified at the local Eva K. Bowlby Public Library in Waynesburg.

Once a month a member of the American Heart Association comes to the library to teach a class that once completed rewards its participants with CPR and first-aid certifications.

Kathy Douglas, a worker at the library who is in charge of helping run this event, explained the reasoning hosting this event.

“We find that more and more employers are requiring the CPR certification out of their employees, so we thought that since there is such a need, we would offer it to the community,” Douglas said. “First aid is also just really good to know, in case someone is choking or you need to use an AED.”

This class offered at the library will teach CRP, first aid, how to use an AED and more. The American Heart Association’s goal is to inspire the world to save lives through these important life saving processes and skills taught through this course. 

Due to COVID-19 regulations, the classes this year are different than the usual four hour in-person class in past years. Participants who wish to obtain a CPR and first-aid certification must first complete a portion of the class online. Then those who wish to be certified have to attend a hands-on, in-person training session for an hour and a half that is held at the library. Participants must bring the digital certification to be able to attend the in-person class. 

“We had started this a long time ago and then the pandemic put a halt to it, so we are trying to get that started back up now more than ever since we are finding that even the men that work the oil and gas wells need the certification too,” Douglas said. 

Douglas, along with the American Heart Association representative and others helping, have implemented  protocols and regulations to protect the members of this class from COVID-19 as much as possible. Some of these procedures include participants needing to wash their hands before the start of each class and after any breaks. Additionally, participants must have their temperature taken by library staff upon entry, and the specialist that is certifying them. These procedures are accompanied with social distancing and wearing masks. 

“They are using the infant child and adult forms to teach on, these are wrapped in plastic, and there is obviously no mouth to mouth going on,” Douglas said. “We are currently limiting the size of the class to four people for social distancing purposes. That may change in the coming months with the governor’s lessening of restrictions.”

Anyone wishing to become CPR and first-aid certified can visit the American Heart Association website or contact The Eva K. Bowlby Public Library and the staff will help navigate the process to obtain these life-saving skills.