Pitt basketball team takes part in CPR, AED training

PITTSBURGH — The sounds of Smash Mouth’s All Star and Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees echoed throughout the Petersen Events Center Wednesday afternoon. But it wasn’t background noise for Pitt basketball practice. The Panthers took part in CPR and AED training, which is training that saved the life of one of their own coaches less than a year ago.

PHOTOS: Pitt basketball team takes part in CPR, AED training

“I’m living proof that if you are equipped and know what to do CPR-wise, you definitely can save someone’s life,” said Associate Head Coach Milan Brown.

As the Panthers performed chest compressions and listened to instructions from the AED, they knew the lifesaving skills they were learning hold a deeper meaning. Just 11 months ago, Brown went into cardiac arrest in that very building.

“It’s important because of what happened to me,” said Brown. “It’s more meaningful because of what happened to me. Just trying to have the guys understand that they may be in a position where they may have to save someone’s life. I was blessed enough to have people close to me, when my situation happened, with my cardiac arrest, that a few people knew what to do. That’s absolutely what saved my life.”

Now, his players are among those trained to know what to do when minutes matter most.

“It could happen to a person that you see every day,” said redshirt junior forward Will Jeffres. “Their heart could stop, and they could be considered dead and you have the opportunity to revive them, to save their life, to allow them to live another day, to see their loved ones, to see their friends and family, that’s huge.”

Pitt is working to get every student-athlete trained in CPR. Pitt School of Medicine Assistant Professor Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, who leads the training emphasizes how the actions of a bystander can significantly help someone’s chance of survival.

“Everybody can be a hero, you too can save a life,” said Owusu-Ansah. “It’s a very simple procedure to do, and when you call 911, you’re not alone in it. You can get help. But everyone could save a life and every life is worth saving.

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