On Feb. 8, Los Banos Parks and Rec will be putting on their third annual Save-A-Heart Day. This new local tradition hopes to “bring the community together and provide resources for them. And bring awareness to businesses we do have in town that can help promote healthier lifestyles for all of our residents,” according to Recreation Assistant Kassy Gil.
Starting at 10 a.m. and ending at 1 p.m., the event will be held in the Los Banos Community Center and is open to all ages. In collaboration with RIGGs, there will be free hands-only CPR training sessions every 30 minutes during the event.
There won’t just be CPR training, there will also be over 15 mental and physical health organizations at the event, including but not limited to: Walgreens with blood pressure tests and staff to answer heart medication questions, Camarena Health with health screening, Merced County mental health, Memorial Hospital, Golden Valley medical Center, Planet Fitness and even Fresh Fill health smoothies.
Dutch Bros will also be there providing tea and support. The Community Center’s Zumba group and Turn Up With Sarah will be doing live performances at the event.
“We hope everyone can come out and take advantage of all the resources made available to our community,” Gil said.
“We think it’s very important that everybody is aware of the basics of CPR and potential save someone’s life. We want to give that skill to our community at no cost,” Gil said. She highlighted that much of the community commutes, which leaves older teens and siblings to babysit. While most CPR courses are for young adults and up, this training would be for all ages.
Last year roughly 100 people attended the event, but Parks and Rec hope to bring in more people this year. For future Save-A-Heart days, they are looking into adding pet-CPR training.
“We’re hoping next year we can get someone. A lot of us have pets… Everyone should be trained on how to also save your pet,” Gil said.
