The American Heart Association and The David & Nicole Tepper Foundation have announced a $600,000 partnership to enhance community CPR education across Charlotte, targeting coaches, athletes, sports league officials, Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Department personnel, and residents in affordable housing communities. This initiative directly confronts a severe public health challenge: nearly 9 out of 10 individuals who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest do not receive immediate CPR from bystanders. The ability to provide immediate CPR can potentially double or triple a person's chance of survival, making this widespread training effort a critical intervention for the community.
The partnership's genesis is partly linked to the cardiac arrest suffered by NFL player Damar Hamlin during a 2023 game. In response, the Teppers swiftly supported CPR education by providing American Heart Association Heartsaver® CPR AED courses to all Tepper Sports & Entertainment staff and players. This made the organization the first NFL team to implement comprehensive cardio emergency response training in collaboration with the American Heart Association. Building on this foundation, the new community-wide program seeks to replicate and expand this model of preparedness. Recent survey data provides a hopeful context for the initiative, showing that the percentage of adults confident in performing CPR increased from 30% to 35% between 2021 and 2023. The American Heart Association has set an ambitious goal to double sudden cardiac arrest survival rates by 2030, a target this Charlotte initiative directly supports.
Nicole Tepper emphasized the foundation's deep commitment to cardiovascular health education, expressing pride in expanding these vital training services throughout Mecklenburg County. The foundation's involvement extends beyond the financial contribution, as Tepper Sports & Entertainment employees are offered opportunities to acquire or renew their Heartsaver® credentials at no personal cost, fostering a culture of readiness within the organization. The program's focus is particularly urgent given that three out of four cardiac arrests occur in homes, highlighting the necessity for CPR knowledge to be ubiquitous among the general public. The training emphasizes Hands-Only CPR, a technique proven to be highly effective in the critical first minutes of an emergency. This method involves calling 911 and performing continuous chest compressions, simplifying the response for untrained or nervous bystanders and increasing the likelihood of intervention. By strategically targeting key community groups and populations, this partnership aims to create a network of confident, capable responders across Charlotte, fundamentally improving the chain of survival for cardiac arrest victims where they are most vulnerable.
