Fraternity
sponsors CPR instruction
By Maritza Diaz
On-line Forty-Niner
Victor
Correa Ortiz went on a boating trip and
decided to take a swim. Moments later, his
body was recovered and brought on to the
boat. No one knew what to do, so they decided
to wait and take him to the hospital, where
he died.
“The doctor said that if anyone had known
CPR, it would have saved his life,” Jeff
Klaus, Greek adviser said.
The death of Ortiz prompted the Sigma Lambda
Beta fraternity to adopt CPR awareness as
the organization’s national philanthropy
and community service, said Klaus.
The fraternity will host a CPR awareness
workshop this weekend in order to allow
students and faculty to become certified.
Eric Rivas, event coordinator and fraternity
member, said organizing this event was not
too difficult because of all the support
from his fraternity brothers. Associated
Students Inc. provided the fraternity with
funding, which allowed the event to be free
to those who want to participate.
“Petitioning for the money was a little
difficult, but when you have the right reasons,
people are going to support an event like
this,” Rivas said.
The workshop takes place once every semester.
This is only the second time it has been
offered.
“There were people who thought that twice
a year would be too much, but I took it
upon myself to coordinate it, with the help
of some people, and make it happen,” Rivas
said.
The Red Cross will provide the supplies,
certification, and instruction. They will
also provide information on infant and animal
CPR, said Rivas.
“I mean, you never know when something might
happen. It could be within your family or
friends,” Rivas said. “We are really trying
to go for the people that are not certified.
At least if one person in your group who
knows CPR is helpful.”
Due to the amount of space made available
to them, the event will only be able to
certify around 50 to 60 people, said Rivas.
“We want to certify as many people as possible
without it being such a big event that people
won’t be able to concentrate on what they
are doing,” said Rivas.
Fernando Santa Cruz, a fraternity member,
said that he decided to become certified
because a lot of the jobs he was applying
for required it. However, he feels that
knowing this skill is useful.
“I haven’t had to use CPR, and I hope I
don’t have to,” he said.
The survival rate for a person who receives
CPR is higher than those who do not receive
it, according to the American Heart Association.
“Some people don’t take it seriously, because
they think it is not going to happen to
them or they are not going to need it,”
Rivas said, “It hasn’t happened to me yet,
and I hope it doesn’t. But if it does, I
feel confident that I can save a life.”
The “CPR Awareness Workshop” will take place
at the North Campus Center Saturday from
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
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