Marshall University’s Rec Center (Rec) is hosting safety certification courses during the fall semester. 

The goal of the courses is to teach participants how to preform safety techniques in order to gain safety certification in various fields. The courses do come with differing fees that can be viewed on the rec’s website. 

The courses have continued during coronavirus, with some extra precautions being taken. 

Jonathan Russell, the graduate assistant of aquatics and safety at the rec, discussed some of these certification programs. 

Russell said the rec is still offering the most taken certification course which is CPR for the professional rescuer. “The standard CPR class learns how to do CPR and how to provide rescue breathing, as well as how to properly use rescue equipment,” Russell said. 

Russell discussed some of the adjustments the courses have had to make in order to meet proper coronavirus protocol. 

“We have taken a lot of precautions with COVID,” Russell said. “For the CPR class specifically, everyone comes in and has their own station set up, as well as their own mannequin and gloves. They stay at the stations the entire class while the instructors go through the material. All instructors and participants must also wear masks. We have also capped the classes to a maximum of 6 participants”     

Russell said the classes have made some minor changes to the first aid responses in the CPR training course. 

 Russell said, the courses are not having participants lean their head down and listen for a breath when assessing a victim, but instead having them keep an arm’s length away, open the airway, and checking to see if the chest rises or falls. 

Russell said the rec is still offering most of the other certification classes but will only create concrete dates for them if there are enough people interested in taking those classes. 

Russell said from his point of view the classes have had little issues 

Russell said, “I think for the most part, everyone is pretty aware of

what is going on and have been willing to follow the guidelines. We have not had anyone who has been a challenge to teach. One of the few issues we have is the limited capacity in the classes which can cause scheduling conflicts.” 

Gabriel Estes, a Marshall nursing student, talked about the CPR certification courses and the important information they contain. 

“Marshall still being able to provide these courses safely is important,” Estes said. “Any given day, someone could be at a movie and see someone else fall to the ground because of a heart attack. Seconds are crucial when the brain is not getting oxygen, so the faster blood flow can be restored, the better chance of survival. The more people who are CPR certified, the better.” 

For information about certification programs and dates, students can visit the Rec’s website. 

Alex Jackson can be contacted at [email protected].