In October, Samantha Metheny of Medford Fire & Rescue was recognized both nationally and at the state level at the Oregon EMS Conference in Salem.
The Oregon Health Authority presented their Community Service Award to Samantha, and the American Heart Association was proud to recognize her as a CPR Anytime Champion for championing the CPR-Anytime program in Jackson County. AHA is now using her program as a national model for other communities. Thanks to her enthusiasm and tireless dedication, she’s helping create a new generation of lifesavers.
The Southern Oregon CPR Initiative is a collaborative effort and last year, in total, they educated 4,000 people how to perform Hands-Only CPR and since their inception, three years ago, they have taught over 6,500 people Hands-Only CPR.
For the past three school years, Samantha has been the organizer and driving force behind the Southern Oregon CPR Initiative in Jackson County. The central goal of this initiative was to increase the survival rate of out-of-hospital-cardiac arrests by teaching hands-only CPR to seventh graders throughout Jackson County.
Ms. Metheny helped to teach the first classes of seventh grade students hands-only CPR, using the American Heart Association (AHA) CPR Anytime® kits purchased with funds donated by the John and Nora Darby Heart Fund.
She has since taken over the organization of the program, and additionally teaches many of the classes. She carries out a long list of logistical support to make the program possible.
As a result of Samantha’s efforts, the Southern Oregon CPR Initiative taught 269 students in the first year of the program and 1,205 students in the last school year (2013-2014), which is more than half of the seventh graders in the county. On average, each of these students has taught hands-only CPR to at least two other friends or family members as homework.
She says, “In the past year we have become aware of one student we taught who provided hands-only CPR to her grandfather, who subsequently walked out of the hospital in good condition; clearly a successful result.”
Our deepest gratitude and congratulations to Samantha for her exemplary work and inspiring passion for community service. Last year the Southern Oregon CPR Initiative (a collaborative effort created by Jackson County EMS under the direction of Dr. Paul Rostykus and Samantha Metheny-MFR, and the local chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Ashland Fire-Rescue, Jackson County Fire District #3 and local educators) educated 4000 people how to perform Hands-Only CPR and since their inception, three years ago, they have taught over 6500 people Hands-Only CPR. Last year the Southern Oregon CPR Initiative (a collaborative effort created by Jackson County EMS under the direction of Dr. Paul Rostykus and Samantha Metheny-MFR, and the local chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Ashland Fire-Rescue, Jackson County Fire District #3 and local educators) educated 4000 people how to perform Hands-Only CPR and since their inception, three years ago, they have taught over 6500 people Hands-Only CPR.
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