Woodlands CPR Ambassadors is a pilot program by the American Heart Association that began last year and has been led by The Woodlands resident Ron Mullins as an outlet for CPR awareness and training.

Michelle Mason, director of communication for the Gulf Coast division of the AHA, said the pilot program is the first of its kind and is only being offered in Montgomery County. The ambassadors are donating their time to further the mission of the American Heart Association and are doing so through the American Heart Association’s CPR guidelines. However, the ambassadors do not offer certification trainings.

Mullins said he founded the group after two of his friends died of heart of attacks and could have been saved if the people near them knew CPR.

"The best thing about us is that we raise awareness and save lives," Mullins said. "The most important thing is that if a person standing next to you had a heart attack, could you save their life?"

According to the AHA, the CPR bystander rate in Montgomery County is 14.9 percent, and the national average is 50 percent. In Harris County, the rate is 51 percent.

"That's an appalling number for a community with high education," Mullins said. "We have an unacceptable rate of [trained] CPR [residents]."

Mullins said the ambassadors group is composed of eight other trained CPR members and the goal by the end of this year is teach more than 1,000 people how to administer CPR.

"The American Heart Association has trained us in the two-step method of CPR," Mullins said. "We're a unique group, there is nothing else like it."

Mason said getting volunteers out into the local community to help spread CPR awareness helps the AHA's mission.

"It's helping us get our mission out there," she said. "The best thing is getting volunteers out into the community and being a voice for the American Heart Association."

 

For more information on the Woodlands CPR Ambassadors visit https://www.facebook.com/WoodlandsCPRAwareness/