History of First Aid
Clara Barton herself was alarmed by the rise in injuries from industrial accidents and initiated the first Red Cross first aid program in 1903. By 1910, we had adopted first aid as a national program and partnered with the Pullman Co. to tour the country by train, teaching industrial workers first aid. Here in Greenville, a group of Red Cross volunteers designed their own first aid training under the direction of local doctors. At first, only physicians taught first aid. Red Cross recognized the need for more instructors and in 1925 launched its First Aid Lay Instructor program, allowing people who were not physicians to become certified first aid instructors. The results from this training were never more dramatically demonstrated than following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Knowing that war was spreading across the Pacific, volunteers organized by the Red Cross had practiced for months beforehand, carrying out air raid drills, learning first aid and preparing emergency medical facilities. When the attacks began, Red Cross volunteers from all walks of life were ready. Red Cross nurses and several thousand first aid-trained volunteers saved a great number of injured who were cut off from physicians by raging fires.
Over the years, the Red Cross has helped develop and incorporate the latest medical advances into its first aid and lifesaving programs. Mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing, CPR, abdominal thrusts for choking victims—often called the “Heimlich Maneuver”— and the use of automated external defibrillators have all been brought to the general public, in large part through the efforts of the Red Cross.
Clara Barton herself was alarmed by the rise in injuries from industrial accidents and initiated the first Red Cross first aid program in 1903. By 1910, we had adopted first aid as a national program and partnered with the Pullman Co. to tour the country by train, teaching industrial workers first aid. Here in Greenville, a group of Red Cross volunteers designed their own first aid training under the direction of local doctors. At first, only physicians taught first aid. Red Cross recognized the need for more instructors and in 1925 launched its First Aid Lay Instructor program, allowing people who were not physicians to become certified first aid instructors. The results from this training were never more dramatically demonstrated than following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Knowing that war was spreading across the Pacific, volunteers organized by the Red Cross had practiced for months beforehand, carrying out air raid drills, learning first aid and preparing emergency medical facilities. When the attacks began, Red Cross volunteers from all walks of life were ready. Red Cross nurses and several thousand first aid-trained volunteers saved a great number of injured who were cut off from physicians by raging fires.
Over the years, the Red Cross has helped develop and incorporate the latest medical advances into its first aid and lifesaving programs. Mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing, CPR, abdominal thrusts for choking victims—often called the “Heimlich Maneuver”— and the use of automated external defibrillators have all been brought to the general public, in large part through the efforts of the Red Cross.
First Aid classes are offerred locally at all of our Upstate locations. For more info, call 271-8222 in Greenville and Laurens counties; 229-3102 in Abbeville, Greenwood and McCormick counties; 225-8666 in Anderson county; and 878-0131 in Pickens county. The investment of a few hours could change someone's life forever.
Down the Street. Across the Country. Around the World. Your American Red Cross.
