The American Red Cross of the Heartland
Helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergency situations.

American Red Cross Health and Safety Courses

Welcome to your American Red Cross.  We are pleased that you have taken the first step in learning how to save lives through your interest in American Red Cross health and safety training.  The American Red Cross of the Heartland  offers a variety of courses designed to prepare you for responding to emergencies that occur at home, at work or at play.  We invite you to explore the listing following this page to learn more about the courses that are currently available. 

Before  Class

The American Red Cross is a nonprofit, humanitarian organization funded by the generous contributions of time and money from the American people.  Many of the services provided by the Red Cross are free of charge, gifts to people in need in our community.  Maximizing the use of our charitable dollars, we charge fees for our health and safety training to cover costs of the program, as well as to expand our services to the public.  We are unable to issue refunds unless the Red Cross cancels a course.  Instruction will not be denied because of inability to pay registration fee – contact the Health & Safety Director for more information on this matter. 

The Red Cross encourages people of all ages to learn how to prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies through its health and safety training.  While no age limit is imposed for health and safety non-youth community courses, participants must be able to read at an eighth-grade level.

To provide you with the best experience, the Red Cross requires that participants attend all class sessions of the course for which they have registered.  If you need to reschedule a course, please notify the Red Cross office at least five days prior to its start.  Once classes have started, the Red Cross is unable to reschedule participants in other courses.  We understand that emergencies arise and handle these situations on an individual basis.  To avoid an automatic failing score, American Red Cross national standards require that participants make up any incomplete grade received for a course within 30 days. 

On  the  Day of  Class

Once your training begins, you should come to class ready to learn.  Wear comfortable shoes and loose clothing that will allow you to kneel and lie on the floor.  Avoid wearing jewelry that will need to be removed prior to working with training manikins. 

Throughout your Red Cross training, you will gain practical experience for responding to emergencies by practicing lifesaving skills on training manikins.  According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), no cases have ever been reported of any infectious diseases transmitted through the use of training manikins.  The Red Cross follows widely accepted guidelines for cleaning and decontaminating manikins.  To minimize your risk of disease transmission, you should postpone participation in CPR courses if you are suffering from or have been exposed to infections, such as colds, sore throats and other communicable diseases of a temporary nature.  You also should postpone training if you have any open cuts or sores in your mouth, including those caused by recent tooth extractions.  If you need to reschedule a course for one of the above reasons, please notify the Red Cross office one days prior to its start.   A separate manikin may be used if you suffer from a chronic condition or an acute condition, but cannot postpone training.

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