UR Medicine and the American Heart Association are working together at Buffalo Bills Training Camp to help more people in Rochester learn hands-only CPR and become lifesavers

Rochester, New York – UR Medicine is teaming up once again with the American Heart Association (AHA) to give people in the Rochester area a better shot at saving lives. This summer, the organizations are bringing hands-only CPR training directly to fans at the Buffalo Bills Training Camp, which runs from July 23 through August 7 at St. John Fisher University.

The training is part of a broader effort to create what organizers are calling a community of “ROC Lifesavers.” Their goal is simple but powerful — to ensure more people know how to react quickly and effectively if they witness someone collapse from sudden cardiac arrest.

At the heart of this effort is the HeartSaver Hub, the region’s only mobile hands-only CPR training station. Throughout the training camp, visitors of all ages will have the chance to learn this life-saving skill thanks to a team of on-site instructors. Training will be offered both for adults and for children.

Hands-only CPR has been proven to double a person’s chance of surviving a cardiac arrest, yet far too few people are prepared to perform it when needed. According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 people suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests each year across the United States. That’s nearly 1,000 people every day.

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Closer to home, recent numbers show there’s still a lot of work to do. In Monroe and Livingston counties, only 32 percent of people who experienced cardiac arrest at home received CPR before an ambulance arrived. That’s far below the national target of 45 percent.

“Following Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin’s on-field cardiac arrest, UR Medicine and the Heart Association brought the mobile training station to the Finger Lakes and launched a campaign to boost CPR skills.”

That moment served as a wake-up call, not only for the professional sports world but also for communities everywhere. The need to know CPR can arise at any moment — in the stands, on the field, at home, or out in public.

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Over the past two years, more than 12,000 people throughout the Rochester area have stepped up and used the HeartSaver Hub to learn how to perform CPR. Thousands more have been trained through other programs. The station is designed to make learning easy and accessible. Participants watch a short video, practice compressions on a built-in manikin, and take a quick 30-second test. Real-time feedback helps users adjust hand placement, compression depth, and rhythm.

For those who can’t make it to training camp, there’s another option. CPR Go-Bags are available to borrow through the Monroe County Library System. These kits make it easy for individuals, families, and groups to practice CPR at their own pace, whenever and wherever it works for them. Many people have already used the Go-Bags to share these essential skills within their homes and communities.

“This is really about giving people confidence and making sure they’re ready to help,” organizers say. “Even a few minutes of training can make all the difference when someone’s life is on the line.”

The partnership between UR Medicine and the AHA underscores a larger commitment to public health. By bringing CPR education into high-traffic community events like the Bills training camp, they hope to reach more people — and ultimately save more lives.