MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee barbershop Gee's Clippers transformed into a classroom Monday morning where barbers received hands-on CPR training and learned about early cardiac arrest care.
"You saw how many of the barbers were so engaged, asking great questions," said Gaulien "Gee" Smith, the owner of Gee's Clippers.
"At any time an emergency can happen and people need to know how to respond," said Jasmine Johnikin, the community outreach nurse for Froedert and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Last month, Smith, along with EMS staff from the Milwaukee Fire Department and nurses from Froedtert and The Medical College of Wisconsin, came up with the idea to offer the training.
Not knowing that just one week before, America would witness the life-saving CPR measures performed on Damar Hamlin after he went into sudden cardiac arrest during a national televised football game.
"You can be at the Bucks game, you can be at the grocery store. It can happen anywhere," said Johnikin.
From understanding the warning signs of a heart attack to learning how to use and administer an AED, barbers learned everything it takes to save a life.
"Now I'll forever if I'm ever in that situation I'm definitely going to think of that whole staying alive song to stay on pace with the compressions," said Smith.
According to a recent study done by the Cleveland Clinic, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, but it has a higher impact on communities of color. Black men have a 70% higher risk of heart failure compared to white men. Black women have a 50% higher risk of heart failure compared to white women.
This makes learning about CPR and early cardiac warning signs at Gee's Clippers all the more important.
"With hypertension in the African-American community, heart attacks, and things of that nature, we really have to be prepared," said Smith.
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Conversations about how to perform CPR, and use AED, have been in focus lately after Damar Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest and received CPR on the field.
Andrea Albers is at a Milwaukee barber shop, where hands-only CPR training will be provided later this morning.
The training that will be offered Monday morning at Gee's Clippers is literally life-saving.
Each year more than 300,000 people across the U.S. die of sudden cardiac arrest. That's why organizations like the Red Cross say it's so important to learn how to perform CPR and use an AED.
In fact, for each minute that CPR is delayed, a person's chances of survival drop by 10 percent.
Nurses from Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin will join Milwaukee Fire Department EMS staff here later this morning to provide hands-only CPR training to barbers.
You can find CPR classes with a simple Google search. The Red Cross and American Heart Association can also direct you to training opportunities. I took a look at the Red Cross registration website. There are classes available this week in Milwaukee, but it appears they are filling up quickly.
Medical experts say what happened to Hamlin is very rare, but in general, cardiac arrest is common.