Basic Life Support

Basic Life Support or "BLS" was formerly known as Health Care Provider CPR. This CPR course teaches new methods for CPR, adds in neonates for an age group, and utilizes more equipment for airway + breathing.

First In-Person Session

Your first in-person session will be a BLS CPR course. If you have BLS CPR, you are still required take the course again - it is part of the curriculum. Also, BLS CPR expires every year. You might be used to First Aid certificates lasting for 3 years, and AFA does as well, but BLS CPR is a separate certification that must be refreshed yearly.

We will also be doing other AFA skills on this first day.

Basic Life Support Terminology

Throughout the Basic Life Support course, the following terms are used as they are defined here.

• Basic life support (BLS): The recognition of and initial intervention or treatment given by pre-hospital or in-facility responders to a patient suffering from cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest. 

• In-facility: Any environment within a clinical (including hospital) setting.

• Pre-hospital: Any environment outside of a clinical/hospital setting. 

• Responder: Any individual with the professional responsibility to provide care to a patient in either a pre-hospital or an in-facility setting.