CPR and AED access expanding for School System

Cookeville, TN – Putnam County School System received five new AED’s thanks to generous partners of Carmen’s Fund, which provides FREE American Heart CPR, First Aid and AED classes for dozens of schools and non-profits throughout the Upper Cumberland. The program currently collaborates with four county school systems, including Putnam County, to provide FREE certification classes for all teachers and staff.

AED’s were purchased thanks to donations to Cookeville Regional Charitable Foundation, which operates Carmen’s Fund in collaboration with community partners.

“These AED’s will make our schools even safer for students, staff and visitors in Putnam County, by increasing the number of locations where we can access an AED during an emergency. We are thankful for the gift.” states Janet Frank, PCSS Nurse Coordinator.

Carmen’s Fund welcomes two new instructors, Joe Holloway and Sam LeFave. Joe has a vision for expanding training classes to include volunteers, parents and students associated with High School and Middle School sports teams. He encourages the community to support this expansion by donating to Carmen’s Fund.

“We have been reaching out to coaches about emergency response supplies they would like to have on-hand. If funding is secured, we hope to provide teams completing training with FREE first aid kits and eventually expand to other counties. This will make it safer during practice on-the field, when EMS is usually not on-site,” comments Joe Holloway, Carmen’s Fund instructor.

Collaborative partners of area CPR and AED education include: Carmen’s Fund, Mended Hearts, START, PEP, PCSS, PCEMA and CRMC Foundation.  Pictured (L-R): Ben Danner, Sarah Birdwell, Janet Frank, Dee Prince, John Bell, Joe Holloway.