Heart attack is the leading cause of death in the United States. However, CPR is a proven way to resuscitate, but most untrained bystanders hesitate to help cardiac arrest victims. Research has shown that when bystanders have CPR training, they are much more likely to take action. Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the United States. Emergency medical personnel respond to nearly 300,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests in the United States annually, so CPR can help save many of these victims' lives.

The Nesquehoning Ambulance Corp has launched a Community Wide Awareness program. Several members of the Nesquehoning Ambulance Corp are local level instructors who are providing their skills and talents to instruct and certify individuals in basic first aid, CPR and AED training.Recently two programs were conducted. The Nesquehoning Borough Police Department, both full-time and part-time officers, were re-certified in CPR and AED usage. The second program was held at the New Columbus Fire Station. Several members took part in being certified CPR and AED usage. Dave Rohlfing and Joe Trimmel, Jr. have taken the lead in this project with a goal to have more citizen involvement within the community to save lives.