EP #203 Hands-Only CPR Training For Real Emergencies
•Dori Stewart•Season 1•Episode 203
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Your chances in a cardiac emergency can hinge on what a bystander does in the first minute, not on what happens after the ambulance arrives. That’s why we brought on Lance Lopez from Rocky Mountain Resuscitation, a medical training company that teaches everything from CPR and first aid to AED training, Stop the Bleed, and even EMT training for the next wave of responders.
We talk through what hands-only CPR actually looks like when you’re stressed, why so many people freeze, and the myths that keep capable neighbors from stepping in, including the fear of getting sued. Lance shares a blunt survival reality about cardiac arrest outside the hospital and explains how simple chest compressions can raise the odds. We also get into the practical side of training in Fredericksburg VA: partnering with schools, churches, workplaces, fire departments, and hospitals, and helping teams keep certifications current.
Lance also opens up about the leap from a 20-year Navy hospital corpsman career to entrepreneurship, including the upfront work, the financial mistakes, and the mindset that keeps him going because the mission is worth it. He even shares that Rocky Mountain Resuscitation offers free classes, and he leaves us with advice that matters to every family: don’t be afraid to call 911, and teach your kids how to do it too.
If you got value from this, subscribe, share it with a neighbor, and leave a quick review so more people can find practical CPR training and emergency readiness advice. What’s one emergency skill you think every household should have?
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. I have a special guest joining me today. We've got Lance Lopez joining us. He is with Rocky Mountain Resuscitation. Lance, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 1
Good morning. Thank you for having me.
Speaker
I'm really excited about this. I'm I'm excited to learn more about you and your business.
So we're a medical training company. We do everything from basic CPR in a first aid all the way up to EMT training and everything in between. So it's a skill that I hope everybody learns CPR-wise, but never has to use it because you never know when something can happen.
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. So tell me what is your background and what led you to
I've always wanted to be a paramedic ever since I was a kid. I actually wanted to be the ambulance itself until I was told that you couldn't do that. It's like, all right, I'll do the paramedic thing. I joined the Navy right out of high school as a hospital corpsman, which is kind of like an army medic, but only better. I did that for 20 years. While I was in there, I ran into some really good instructors, but I also ran into more bad instructors. I was like, well, I could do better than that. So I retired about three years ago. I'm like, what am I gonna do with my wife? Well, let me start my own company. Terrible idea. Don't ever do it.
Uh people come to you, you go out to others. Walk me through your business model.
Speaker 1
So it's it's a little bit of a mixture of both. So they can come to me and I'll do whatever training they want. I go to high schools, churches, um, corporate operations to do hands-only CPR, stop the bleed. A lot of agencies will get AEDs or automated external defibrillators and they don't know how to use them. So, like, okay, I'll come and I'll teach you, walk you through the steps. And I also work with fire departments and hospitals and other types of emergency agencies to help get their staff either trained initially or keep up their hours and their certifications.
Speaker
Amazing. So I imagine some of those partnerships that you have built are pretty integral to your business model.
Speaker 1
Uh, yeah. So my EMT classes, I had to have them send some students to the hospitals or to fire departments to get ride time. So it's uh we're helping, it's mutually beneficial. We're helping each other out.
So, do you find that there are any myths or misconceptions that you hear that you would like to set the record straight?
Speaker 1
Everybody's like scared to do something in an emergency. Oh, I can't do CPR because I'm gonna get sued, or I don't need to do this, or anything like that. The survivability rate of a heart attack outside of a hospital is less than one percent. If you do CPR, that can make it up to 15%. Now, it doesn't sound like a lot, that is 15% chance better survival. We're getting oxygen to the brain. So, hands only CPR, even if you don't know how to do it, center the chest hard and fast, you can save a life.
Speaker
Yeah, that's an important message. I appreciate that.
So tell me, you mentioned that you know you made that you made a little joke about starting a business. So tell me, if someone listening is thinking about starting their own business, what advice would you give them?
Speaker 1
It's gonna take a lot of initial work, a lot of prep. I kind of went about the wrong way, and I have some credit card debt that balls off of that. Um, it's gonna be a while before you build anything up, but if you stay passionate and you stay focused and you go on, it will be beneficial. I absolutely love what I do. I'm glad I did it. I made that joke saying don't ever do it again, but it's something I'm proud I was able to do. I'm the first person in my well, I'm not the first person in my family, but a lot of people in my family have small businesses, and I'm just trying to grow off of that. And I learned, ask them for help and like, what did you do for this? What did you do for that? So there's always help out there.
Speaker
Yeah, that's really good advice. Ask ask those who are successful in either doing what you're doing or something similar is always uh beneficial. Yeah.
So tell me, what is something that you wish the listeners knew about Rocky Mountain resuscitation?
Speaker 1
Mainly that we're here to give you training. So I was really bad at social media and marketing and all that, trying to get my name out there. I'm the most invert, invert person you will ever see. But when it comes time to talking about how to save a life, I will talk your ear off. I'll be like, okay, we get it. You you we we understand now, but just know that we're here and we do offer free classes, whether it's uh CPR tox or hands-only CPR or stop the bleed classes, we offer that to anybody and everybody uh free of charge.
Speaker
Amazing, amazing. So I you what you do, I imagine, is I mean, so rewarding. You're you're saving lives, or you're you're a part of somebody else saving a life. So I imagine that it's even though business is hard, it's something that uh gets you out of bed in the morning and you're proud of what you do.
Speaker 1
I absolutely love what I do, and I have a passion for teaching and medicine, so why not combine the two?
it. So if the listeners want to connect with you, if they want to learn more from you, where can they find you?
Speaker 1
So I have a website, it's Rocky Mountain, all spelled out, R-E-S-U-S.com. We also have a Facebook page, a social media, and then I caved and I got a TikTok account. So we all have Rocky Mountain Recess on those uh social medias as well.
Speaker
Amazing, amazing. Is there anything that you would like to share with the listeners that we haven't already uh talked about?
Speaker 1
Don't be afraid to call 911. So as I'm a volunteer paramedic here in Fredericksburg, and people always say I don't want to call 911 because I don't want to waste your time or anything like that. I would have much rather show up, say, okay, is everybody good here? Awesome. Have a great day, and then you being afraid to call for help and have something bad happen. So don't ever be afraid to call 911 and be sure to teach your kids how to call them too.
Speaker
Great advice. Lance, thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today and sharing Rocky Mountain Resuscitation with us.
Speaker 1
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2
Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to FXBG Neighbors Podcast.com.
