Clinical Education
BLS Healthcare Provider and Heartsaver AED Courses
General Information
- The fee for either the Heartsaver AED class or the BLS Healthcare Provider class is $50 for individuals who are not Doctors Community Hospital employees. Payment is by cash only.
- In-person preregistration is required. Call 301-552-8072 for more information.
- Onsite check-in (on the day of class) is at 12:45 pm in the Ambulatory Surgery building (behind the hospital), 4th floor, in rooms 415, 416, and 417.
- There are no First Aid courses offered at Doctors Community Hospital.
Heartsaver AED
The Heartsaver AED (automated external defibrillator) course teaches the basic techniques of adult CPR and how to use an AED. The course teaches how to recognize the signs of four major emergencies: heart attack, stroke, cardiac arrest and foreign-body airway obstruction.
The Heartsaver AED program is specifically designed for lay rescuers whose jobs require a credential documenting successful completion of a written evaluation and successful skills performance. Potential students for this course include police, airline personnel, security personnel, corporate employees, preschool employees, family members of patients at high risk for sudden cardiac death, other rescuers, and those who need or want to learn CPR and how to operate an AED.
Heartsaver AED is offered at Doctors Community Hospital once a month. Dates for 2008 are January 8, February 5, March 4, April 8, May 6, June 3, July 8, August 5, August 26, October 7, November 4 and December 2. There is no class in September.
Course length: approximately 4 hours.
BLS Healthcare Provider
The BLS Healthcare Provider course teaches CPR skills for helping victims of all ages; use of an automated external defibrillator (AED); and relief of foreign-body airway obstruction (FBAO). It is intended for participants who provide heath care to patients in a wide variety of settings, including in-hospital and out-of-hospital. Potential students for this course include physicians, nurses, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, respiratory therapists, physical and occupational therapists, physician's assistants, residents or fellows, or medical or nursing students in training, aides, medical or nursing assistants, police officers, and other allied health personnel.
The full certification BLS Healthcare Provider is offered ay Doctors Community Hospital four times a year. Full certification is required for individuals whose certification has expired, or for those who have never taken the certification class. The dates for 2008 are January 22, April 22, July 22, and October 21.
Individuals who need to renew their BLS Healthcare Provider certification (i.e., the renewal date has not passed) can take the Renewal course, which is offered on the same days as the Heartsaver AED classes (see above).
Course length: approximately 4 hours.