Blink CPR Training Saves Lives in the Blink of an Eye

Pictured Above: Hundred of attendees divided up into small groups paired with volunteer instructors at Blink CPR's event on Aug. 31. 

There are moments in our lives when every second matters. Unfortunately, moments like those are usually moments of urgency. While no one should ever have to experience the blind terror of handling a life-threatening situation, being prepared for a crisis is imperative. That’s why Blink CPR classes are such a necessity for everyone to take.

Blink CPR was founded in 2014 by a group of people who knew how important it was that the community be trained in life-saving procedures.

“As good as Hatzalah is, it still takes time for them to get there,” says Blink president Lew Esses. “In those few minutes, lives can be saved or lives can be lost.”

Blink started out giving classes in community high schools in Brooklyn, NY and Deal, NJ. Even today, Blink trains every community high school senior in CPR. In 2015, they started “Blink Week,” where free open classes were offered to community members. 2019 marks the fifth year that Blink Week has taken place. Over the course of this year's Blink week, over 1,200 people were taught how to save a life. 48 lives have been saved since Blink started this initiative in 2014, with 3 of those life saves coming in the past two weeks alone. With over seventy instructors, Blink is aiming to make its courses as widespread as possible.

“The class was extremely informative especially since I just had my first child,” said Shelly Forman, a recent attendee to one of Blink's courses. “It’s so important to know these things because you never know, G-d forbid, if you’ll have to jump into action one day.”

Blink’s website has dozens of “saved stories.” These are the stories of people whose lives have been saved by someone with Blink CPR training. In almost every story the person who saved the victim was a relative. In many cases, the person had taken a CPR course several months or even years before, yet their instincts drove them to act in an emergency.

CPR courses last ninety minutes and a situation in which you would have to use those skills can last just seconds. The outcome, however, can affect entire lives.

I urge you to look into getting CPR certified yourself. Click here for more information! 

Arlette is a talented writer currently working as Sephardic.Org's Summer events intern.