Basic Life Support

The purpose of the Basic Life Support (BLS) program is to ensure that healthcare providers have the knowledge and skills necessary to respond to breathing and cardiac emergencies. 

The course emphasizes active, hands-on learning and uses scenario activities to help participants learn how to provide CPR, use an AED, and relieve an obstructed airway for adult, child, and infant patients.

The Basic Life Support program is available in Classroom (Instructor-led) and Blended Learning formats.

The American Red Cross Basic Life Support (BLS) course is designed to train healthcare professionals including nurses, physicians, EMS professionals, and other healthcare and public safety personnel to respond to breathing and cardiac emergencies in adults, children and infants. Content in this program is consistent with:

• The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) 2021 International Consensus on Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care Science with Treatment Recommendations
• The American Red Cross Focused Updates and Guidelines 2020
• The BLS program content was updated to include policy statements, evidence reviews and guidelines from:
  • American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
  • American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP)
  • American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG)
  • American College of Surgeons (ACS)
  • American Heart Association Emergency Cardiovascular Care (AHA ECC)
  • Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care (CoTCCC)
  • Obstetric Life Support™ (OBLSTM)
  • Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) and the American
  • College of Critical Care Medicine (ACCM)
  • Surviving Sepsis Campaign (SSC)

Created with the latest information available, our BLS classes allow you to learn life-saving techniques and can help prepare you for a career in the medical field, as a police officer or firefighter or another career where caring for others is part of the job.

In order to help you respond safely to a range of medical problems, our BLS class schedule includes coursework in:

• Rapid Assessment and Visual Survey
• CPR/AED for Adults, Children and Infants
• Obstructed Airways
• Opioid Overdoses
• Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Communication and Teamwork
• The Emergency Medical Services System
• Legal Considerations
• Precautions

In Person: Led by best-in-class instructors, our in-person courses combine lecture with hands-on skills sessions. Created for those who learn best in a traditional classroom setting, our in-person classes give you the time you need to learn the information presented, ask questions and become comfortable with the hands-on skills you'll need to pass your BLS certification exams.

Course Duration approximately 4 hours

Minimum 2 participants/Maximum 9 participants

Blended Learning: Using a combination of self-paced, interactive online BLS classes and in-person skill sessions, our blended learning program gives you the ability to train on your schedule, improve your clinical decision-making skills, learn the latest science-based protocols, then demonstrate your skills to a certified instructor.

Course Duration: Online component approximately 1 hour 30 minutes

                                        In-person Skills Session approximately 2 hours 45 minutes

Minimum 2 participants/Maximum 9 participants