Most job site injuries are not dramatic. A hand gets opened up on sheet metal, somebody goes off a ladder and lands wrong, a burn happens at a grill or a torch, a guy who skipped lunch goes pale and sits down hard. None of that is CPR. All of it is first aid, and the crew that knows what to do in the first five minutes is the crew that keeps a bad day from getting worse.
If you run a small shop, a landscaping crew, a trades business, or a warehouse near Wauconda, Grayslake, or Round Lake, here is how AHA Heartsaver First Aid certification works and what it takes to get your people carded.
First Aid Is a Different Class Than CPR
People use first aid and CPR as one phrase, but they are two separate AHA courses with two separate cards. Plenty of crews need the first aid side more than they need anything else, because bleeding, burns, and falls are what actually show up at work.
- Heartsaver First Aid, $95, 1 to 2 hours. Bleeding control, burns, falls, breaks and sprains, allergic reactions, and the other injuries that happen on a shift. Built for people who are not healthcare providers.
- Heartsaver CPR AED, $95, 2 to 3 hours. Adult, child, and infant CPR plus AED use. This is the one to add if you keep an AED on the wall or your insurance or contract asks for CPR specifically.
- BLS Provider, $85, 90 minutes. The healthcare provider level course. If you have an onsite medical or clinical role, this is their class, not Heartsaver.
Details on each one are on the first aid class page and the Heartsaver CPR AED page, and the full list of what each course costs is on the class prices page.
If a contract, a client, or your insurance carrier is the reason you are looking, read their exact wording before you book. Some ask for first aid only. Some ask for first aid and CPR together. Taking the wrong one means paying twice.
Who on Your Crew Should Have It
The usual instinct is to certify one person and call it covered. That works right up until the one certified person is the one who got hurt, or is on vacation, or is at a different site that day.
A more practical approach for a small business:
- Every crew lead or shift supervisor, so there is always someone carded on site.
- Anyone who works alone or opens and closes by themselves.
- Whoever is nearest the first aid kit and the AED, if you keep one.
- New hires in their first month, while onboarding paperwork is already moving.
Spreading the cards across a few people costs more up front and solves the coverage problem permanently.
Bringing the Class to Your Shop
Sending five people to a class one at a time is five interruptions to your week. Onsite group training brings the instructor, the manikins, and the AED trainers to your location instead. It is quoted per group at group rates.
A break room, a shop floor with the forklifts parked, a conference room, a garage bay with the door down. The space requirement is floor room for manikins and somewhere for people to sit. Crews around Wauconda, Grayslake, Round Lake, Island Lake, and the rest of northern Illinois get trained where they already are, which means nobody loses drive time and the whole thing closes out in one block.
You can start an onsite request at the onsite group training page.
Scheduling Around a Working Week
Classes run seven days a week, roughly 9:00am to 6:30pm, and weekend classes are available on request. There is no waiting list, so you are not sitting on a contract deadline waiting for a seat to open two weeks out.
Heartsaver First Aid runs 1 to 2 hours, which fits a slow morning or the end of a shift without wrecking the day. If you are stacking first aid and CPR AED together for the same group, plan for a longer block and get both cards in one sitting.
If a job or an inspection landed on you with no notice, emergency scheduling is $150 and is often available the same day or the next day.
The Card Is in Your Hand at the End
Every class ends with a two year AHA card issued at the end of class. For a business that needs proof on file, that matters. Your crew finishes, you have the documentation that day, and you are not telling a client or a carrier that it is coming.
Put the expiration dates in a shared calendar when you file them. Two years passes quickly, and the scramble almost always happens because nobody tracked the date.
Who Is Teaching
Classes are taught by Ray Mamerow, a certified American Heart Association instructor with more than 30 years in healthcare who has been teaching CPR since 2010. Links4Life holds a 5.0 star rating across 49 Google reviews. There is more background on the about page, and past students have written up their experience on the testimonials page.
In person classes are held at 28959 Pilgrims Pass, Lakemoor, IL 60051, a short drive from Wauconda, Grayslake, Round Lake, Volo, Island Lake, Fox Lake, and McHenry.
Get Your Crew Scheduled
Pick a time at calendly.com/links4life, or start an onsite request if you are training a group. If you are not sure whether your contract wants first aid, CPR, or both, call or text 815-690-0664 or use the contact page and read the wording out loud. It takes a minute to sort out and it saves you from booking the wrong class.
Your crew already knows how to do the work. This is the couple of hours that covers them when the work goes sideways.
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