COUDERSPORT, Pa., April 15, 2024 – While baseball and softball seasons are in full swing, coaches, volunteers, and parents from the Coudersport Youth Baseball-Softball Association recently took some time away from the fields to participate in UPMC’s Minutes Matter training program. More than 20 individuals participated in the lifesaving skills training series hosted by EMS clinicians from Susquehanna Regional EMS and UPMC.

“Emergencies can happen anywhere, and time plays a big factor in the outcomes,” said Tim Weaver, assistant chief, Susquehanna Regional EMS, and manager, Prehospital Services, UPMC in North Central Pa. “While trained professionals are on their way, how a bystander responds in those early minutes can make a big impact on outcomes. You don’t have to be a trained medical professional to make a difference in someone’s life, and learning simple, easy-to-understand emergency skills, empowers bystanders to provide critical help during these life-threatening and highly stressful situations.”

The training with Coudersport Youth Baseball-Softball Association is the first to take place in Potter County and UPMC has been working with community partners to increase local access to this basic emergency information and education about life-saving interventions.

UPMC’s Minutes Matterempowers bystanders by not only teaching how to respond to common, life-threatening emergencies related to opioid overdose, mental health crisis, cardiac arrest, and uncontrolled bleeding, but also how to act and use an AED, Narcan, and a tourniquet, as well as how to administer effective CPR.

For more information on how you can get involved with UPMC’s Minutes Matter, visit MinutesMatter.UPMC.com.