Learning CPR from Dr. Oz and UNTHSC

February 8, 2017

By Alex Branch

UNT Health Science Center students will team with Dr. Mehmet Oz from The Dr. Oz Show to offer free CPR training Feb. 11- 12 as part of a statewide effort to teach 10,000 people the potentially life-saving procedure.

The second annual Texas Two Step “How to Save a Life” campaign is organized by students from all eleven medical schools in Texas, serving over 40 community sites in 13 cities.

More than 70 UNTHSC student volunteers will help teach adults and children how to perform chest compressions in Fort Worth, Arlington and Benbrook.

During last year’s event, 650 students helped train more than 4,200 people.

“We have more training sites this year and a lot more excitement building up to it,” said Teresa Dunphy, a third-year medical student at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine. “We have set a much bigger goal to train 10,000 people this year.”

Boosting enthusiasm is the involvement of The Dr. Oz Show. The medical celebrity will appear at training sites in Houston, Dallas and Fort Worth to film segments for an upcoming show. He is scheduled to film at Hulen Mall in Fort Worth from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 12.

Students selected training sites with a high volume of foot traffic, such as shopping malls and YMCAs. No appointments are necessary.

Almost 90 percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital die, according to the American Heart Association. But if CPR is performed within the first few minutes of cardiac arrest, a person’s chance of survival can double or triple.

Other partners for the event are the Texas College of Emergency Physicians, Texas Medical Association Foundation, Texas Medical Association, American College of Emergency Physicians, Emergency Medicine Residents Association, MaveRx and Healthcorps.