Leon County's free annual CPR training event called "Press the Chest" has helped increase the local survival rate for cardiac arrest victims.
When someone has a cardiac event, the Red Cross says quick CPR can double or even triple their chance of survival. Leon County EMS Deputy Chief Sally Davis says the local cardiac survival rate is unusually high because so many residents have had training through Press the Chest training.
"And you can see it in our 'ROSC' - return of spontaneous circulation - because we're probably in the 36 or 37% and the national average I would say is probably around 25%."
Davis says the next free Press the Chest training happens this Saturday from 10 a.m. until noon at the Donald L. Tucker Civic Center and lots of people have signed up to attend.
"I love when I see like Boy Scout groups and Girl Scout groups and book clubs. And I even had my tennis ladies come one year. Your closest friends are going to be who you're going to be likely to perform CPR on."
