Car Dealer Donates CPR Units To Mount Vernon Firefighters

From Mt. Vernon FD: The Mount Vernon Fire Department today received a new, state-of-the-art cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) manikin, Resusci Anne, donated by the owner of Classic Audi, a local Mount Vernon business.

“I am very happy to present the Mount Vernon Fire Department with this life-saving CPR unit,” said Classic Audi owner Brian Miller. “First responders risk their lives protecting our city, so assisting them in their vital training is so important for the safety of our community.”

Classic Audi, a member of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA), has been in the Fleetwood section of Mount Vernon for 38 years, where it employs 90 people.

Mr. Miller was joined at the presentation by Mayor Richard Thomas, Fire Commissioner Theodore Beale, Mark Schienberg, President Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association and state Sen. Jamaal T. Bailey at the dealership, on McQuesten Parkway.

“Keeping our city safe is my highest priority and I am grateful to our partners in private industry who step up to the plate. Mount Vernon Firefighters would not be able to fight as effectively as they do without proper training and recertification,” said Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas. “Today's donation of a digital CPR manikin is a valuable tool for emergency preparedness and we are lucky to have partners like Brian Miller of Classic Audi that give back to our city and community.”

GNYADA members have donated more than 100 of the resuscitation training manikins, which cost over $3,000 each, to local first responders throughout the downstate region.

The Resusci Anne® QCPR manikin and technology enables healthcare providers, including firefighters, to obtain greater training to deliver quality CPR in accordance with the latest medical guidelines. QCPR Technology is used to help both instructors and trainees more effectively monitor and review CPR performance, increasing the efficiency and value of training time.

“Being able to give back to their local communities is extremely important to our members,” said GNYADA president Mark Schienberg. “There is nothing more valuable than the gift of life, and this state-of-the-art manikin will help teach emergency personnel how to save more lives.”

The Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association represents nearly 400 franchised automobile dealerships in the metro New York area that collectively generate $48.5 billion in economic impact and support nearly 60,000 jobs.

“This CPR manikin donation will benefit the entire community,” said Senator Bailey, who represents New York’s 36th Senate district. “Hundreds of thousands of people die of cardiac arrest every year, and many of these deaths can be prevented if more people are trained on proper CPR techniques.”

After receiving the donation, Mount Vernon firefighters demonstrated the CPR manikin’s training capabilities and Fire Commissioner Beale explained that the lifelike mechanized patient will be used to train and recertify all 147 members of the fire department.

Mount Vernon Fire Captain Robert Trippodo, head of CPR training, said the new manikin will be used immediately to recertify first responders in CPR techniques this weekend and that it will enable the department to conduct more state-mandated recertification in-house.

GNYADA represents new car dealers and works to help and inform consumers about the purchasing and servicing options available to them. It also promotes on-going education and training and creates job opportunities for young people interested in pursuing careers in the automotive business.

PHOTO: Mount Vernon Mayor Richard Thomas, Classic Audi facility manager Jeffrey Brown, Classic Audi Owner Brian Miller, Sen. Jamaal T. Bailey and GNYADA President Mark Scienberg pose in front of donated Resusci Anne CPR manikin./ Classic Audi