BLS Subcommittee

The BLS Subcommittee serves to identify BLS resources for officers to access in their duty station or local region to maintain BLS certification and basic readiness. Throughout the year the BLS Subcommittee will compile a list of BLS course offerings based on regions, and training opportunities for officers to become BLS trainers.  The Subcommittee will accomplish this by coordinating officer volunteers to serve as regional points of contacts.

BLS SITES and POCs

PHS officers are required to maintain certification in BLS. The required certification is American Heart Association BLS for Healthcare Providers. That course includes infant, pediatric and adult CPR, the bag-valve-mask and use of an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED). The American Red Cross CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers course is equivalent to the AHA BLS for Healthcare Providers course.

If you would like information on how to obtain BLS certification, please reach out to your local POC or use the Nationwide Guide or other resources listed below to find courses near you. 

Local POCs

NIH/METRO DC POC: LCDR Cara Kenney at cara.kenney@nih.gov

NIH courses—only for NIH employees Classes T/W/R

https://ccnd.nihcc.recsolutions.com/ct/client/home/class_information/492

DC-COA @ BOP POC: LCDR Danny Benbassat at dbenbassat@yahoo.com or (234) 759-9001

Where:
Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
400 First Street NW, Washington, DC 20534.
Report to the 400 building lobby. 

FDA POC:  LCDR Aman Sarai at aman.sarai@fda.hhs.gov FDA course via the HHS learning portal. 

CDC/ATLANTA POC: LCDR Catherine Mitchell, LTJG Aaron Grober at xih7@cdc.gov

DENVER/RURAL AREA CONTACT: LT Noah Buikema

NORTH CAROLINA/BUTNER/RALEIGH POC: LT Cynthia Larson

American Heart Association (AHA) Training Center look up

AHA allows for individuals to complete the didactic portion on-line and present for a skill only demonstration at an authorized center 

Information on how to find a course based on geographic location:

http://ahainstructornetwork.americanheart.org/AHAECC/classConnector.jsp?pid=ahaecc.classconnector.home

Information on how to find a specific course or a training center:

http://www.onlineaha.org/

Information on how to locate instructor resources throughout the country:

http://www.onlineaha.org/pages/11

Military Training Network (MTN)

For information and contact numbers of individual sites please follow the link below and click on the quick link on the left-hand side for labeled BLS sites.

https://www.usuhs.edu/mtn

In September 2001, (Commissioned Corps Readiness Force) was granted affiliate status in the MTN. The MTN is designated as the Department of Defense affiliate for the American Heart Association and the American College of Surgeons for resuscitative/trauma medicine programs. What that means to officers is that you may now access BLS training classes with MTN members throughout the United States at no charge.

Classes currently offered through MTN include:

• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
• Pediatric Life Support (PALS)
• Basic Life Support (BLS)--Remember that we require the Healthcare Provider course

At this time, our agreement with MTN authorizes officers to obtain BLS Training. We continue to negotiate for additional classes. We will publish any additional information as it becomes available.

For those of you who live outside of the Washington area and within commuting distance of a military treatment facility and need to update, please call that MTN facility and speak with their education department about the availability of courses.

To affiliate with MTN:

A written request must be endorsed by the Hospital/Clinic/Unit Commander or equivalent and sent to the MTN. The request for affiliation should include the following. Reference the MTN Administrative Handbook.

Nomination of Program Director
Nomination of Program Administrator
List of all Instructors
Type(s) of course(s) to be conducted
Availability of required equipment
Estimated number of students to be trained each year

The MTN handbook (available on their site) is also a good place to get additional information. https://www.usuhs.edu/mtn/bls

USUHS Southern Region-Contact Information
Military Training Network
Resuscitative and Trauma Medicine Program
2787 Winfield Scott Road
Building 2398 Suite 220
JBSA Fort Sam Houston, Texas 78236

Main:(210) 808-4484
DSN: 420-4484 

If you know of any courses or classes, please feel free to reach out to the BLS Subcommittee