Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller Recognizes CPR Awareness Week in the 6th District (Cook County, IL) — CPR Awareness Week takes place each year from June 1st to June 7th, and to recognize the occasion, 6th District Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller held a heart health event at Swallow Cliff Pavillion to encourage residents to take control of their heart health and raise awareness on CPR training. On Tuesday, Commissioner Miller hosted a stair-climbing challenge, hula-hoop contest, and offered CPR training for attendees provided by Illinois Heart Rescue to learn how to help someone in need. The event was part of Commissioner Miller’s work to promote efforts to address heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in Cook County and across the country.
“CPR Awareness Week is an opportunity for our Cook County residents to not only learn techniques and exercises to keep their own hearts healthy, but also how to intervene when someone else is in cardiovascular crisis,” said Commissioner Donna Miller. “By empowering individuals to take control of their own heart health, we can improve outcomes throughout the county and create a healthier community. I hope that everyone who attended yesterday’s event had the opportunity to learn something new and can continue to build their own paths to heart health and wellness.”
One of Commissioner Miller’s first initiatives as a Cook County Commissioner in 2019 was to develop a countywide CPR and AED training program that includes a hands-on practice component to equip employees with the information and tools needed to help someone suffering from cardiac arrest. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Commissioner Miller sponsored a resolution to create a virtual CPR and AED training as part of the on-boarding process for all new county employees. Since the initiative began in 2019, hundreds of Cook County employees have completed the training.
This initiative is particularly important for African Americans, who have higher instances of heart disease, but are less likely to have bystander CPR performed when suffering from cardiac arrest. Nearly half of all non-Hispanic African American adults have some form of cardiovascular disease, but are 30-50% less likely to have bystander CPR performed than white adults. Having CPR initiated by a bystander when someone is suffering from cardiac arrest can almost double the chances of survival.
Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller Recognizes CPR Awareness Week in the 6th District
