LARNED — Dean Nuss, Kansas CPR trainer, spoke at the Jordaan Room on Tuesday at the Larned Chamber Coffee Hour. Nuss trains groups on cardiopulmonary resuscitation, an emergency procedure performed when the heart stops beating.  

“Let me tell you how I got started,” he began. “Ten years ago I was hired by a company as their human resources manager, and at that time I did training sessions for police. Soon after, I got certified in CPR and took over that training as well. I asked the college instructor if doing this was something I could do part time, and he answered, ‘Absolutely. We don’t have enough instructors.’ I took the course, started buying my own equipment, and  for 10 years I filled my evenings and weekends teaching CPR.”

When COVID-19 hit, Nuss lost his full-time position and he decided to pursue full-time CPR training. He met with a marketing company, setting up a website, a Google spot, and turned his part-time passion into a full-time business

“Heart disease is one of the greatest killers, since people suffer heart attacks either at home or businesses. Research shows that 50% of businesses today offer no first-aid training to their employees,” he said. He told stories of lives saved because individuals chose to take the training. Some tell him that they fear being sued if they help an individual, but Nuss explained that the Kansas “Good Samaritan” law protects anyone who intervenes to save a life. In other words, he said, don’t hold back from administering help when you have been trained for this first aid.

Nuss has taught classes to nurses in CNA classes, Eldercare, Rosewood services, Construction companies (OSHA requirement), Recreation centers, baby sitters, day care facilities, high schools, Foster care families and more.