Robbie Levine Foundation helps Bellmore-Merrick residents learn to save a life

Forever 9: Robbie Levine Foundation, in conjunction with the Community Parent Center and the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District, recently held training lessons for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and use of automated external defibrillators at the Brookside School in North Merrick.

According to the foundation, which is headed by Merokean Jill Levine, 450,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest, but many of those deaths could be prevented if more people learned these crucial and life-saving techniques.

Instructors Kevin O’Hara, a former North Merrick fire commissioner, and Kathy Musgrave taught the CPR and AED lessons, and Wendy Tepfer, the director of the Community Parent Center, organized the sessions.

Many Bellmore and Merrick residents practiced the life-saving skills on dummies, ranging from adult-sized to infant-sized, and learned valuable information that could one day save a life.