Someone near you will need help. Be the person who knows what to do.
CareBridge teaches adult CPR, AED use, and First Aid to anyone who wants to learn. The class is free and nothing is due to sign up. Once we confirm your class, cards are $15.99 each, exactly what HSI charges us. If that is a hardship, say so and a donor covers it.
Chest compressions run 100 to 120 a minute.
Press play and feel the pace. That’s the whole rhythm you’ll practice in class.
Courses are taught by Carlos Rojo, a certified HSI instructor, in partnership with the National Care Professionals Institute.
One afternoon. Then you’d know what to do.
Adult CPR, AED, and First Aid in one hands-on session, two to three hours. Everyone leaves with a two-year HSI certification card. The class is free, open to anyone 16 and older, and there is nothing to pay to hold a seat.
Join the class listEvery seat is paid for by someone. Right now, that’s you.
Manikins, gloves, mask shields, instructor time, and every waived card come from donations. Cards cost us $15.99, so $16 is one more neighbor certified.
Donate nowOur next classes are being scheduled now
Two to three hours and free to attend. Cards are $15.99 each, paid only after we confirm your class. Classes are registration only, and each one shows the seats left. Dates go out to the list first.
Tell us where you are, and we’ll tell you when a class opens near you.
We teach regularly in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Dallas area, and we run classes in San Diego as schedules allow. Everyone on the list hears a date before it goes anywhere else, and there’s no cost to hold a spot.
A short email when a class near you opens. Nothing else, and you can leave the list any time.
Somewhere else? Add your ZIP anyway. When enough requests come from one area, we schedule a class there.
What to expect once dates are posted
- Weekends and weekday evenings. We schedule around the shifts most people actually work.
- Community rooms close to home. Churches, libraries, and community centers, chosen to be reachable by transit.
- Around 20 seats a class. Small enough that everyone gets real time on a manikin.
- Register to hold your seat. Every listed class shows the seats left and says Full once it fills, so you always know before you travel.
Have a group already? Ask us to bring a class to you and we will let you know if we can make it work.
The four things that keep someone alive until help arrives
This is the order it happens in. You’ll practice each one on a manikin before you leave.
Call
Recognize an arrest in the first ten seconds, call 911, and put someone in charge of finding the AED.
Compress
Hand position, depth, and the 100 to 120 beat rhythm. You’ll do it until it stops feeling strange.
Shock
Open the AED, place the pads, clear the body, deliver the shock. The machine talks you through it.
Care
Choking, severe bleeding, burns, and what to tell the paramedics when they walk through the door.
Ask us to bring a class to you.
Churches, salons, restaurants, apartment buildings, youth programs, small employers. If you can gather eight or more people and a room, tell us what you have in mind and we will let you know if we can make it work. We bring the instructor and manikins at no charge. Once a date is confirmed, cards are $15.99 a person, and many groups choose to cover them for everyone. Plan on two to three hours. We are mostly in the Bay Area and the Dallas area, and we travel further when a group makes the trip worthwhile.
Prefer to talk it through? Email bridgingcarefoundation@gmail.com and tell us about your group.
What a class actually looks like
Small groups, plenty of hands on time, and an instructor who stays with you until the compressions feel right. These are real CareBridge classes.
No tuition. So donations are the whole budget.
We launched this year and have trained 21 people so far. Every dollar buys supplies and seats, and we publish what we spend as the program grows.
Donations are the only thing we ask for on this page. Nobody is charged to sign up for a class.
Taking a class instead? Sign up free. After we confirm your date we will send one link to pay $15.99 per person for the cards, and anyone who cannot cover it just tells us.
The CareBridge Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 41-5084308. Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law, and every dollar goes directly into classes and supplies.
Who is behind CareBridge
A small volunteer board, a certified instructor, and a lot of people who want to be ready.
Why I started this
I spent about ten years in aging science before I ever taught a class. Then my husband Carlos and I started the National Care Professionals Institute, and I began meeting the people who actually do this work every day: caregivers, RCFE and ARF administrators, adult children taking care of a parent at home. I kept hearing the same thing. They wanted to be ready, and they were waiting for a reason to finally go do it.
Being ready is not something you can pick up in the moment you need it. So we built CareBridge to make the training easy to say yes to now, while nothing is happening. The class itself is free. The certification card is $15.99 because that is exactly what HSI charges us, with nothing added on top, and if that is a hardship you say so and a donor covers it.
Nobody should be learning CPR for the first time while someone they love is on the floor. Give us a couple of hours and we will give you the rest.
Dr. Kallie Rojo, MS, MPH, ACRP-CP, PMPFounder and President, The CareBridge Foundation
Our board
The CareBridge Foundation is a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit, EIN 41-5084308. Our board serves as volunteers. Classes are taught by Carlos Rojo, a certified HSI instructor, in partnership with the National Care Professionals Institute.
Before you sign up
What does it cost?
Nothing to sign up. The class itself is free, and you pay nothing until we confirm your class with you. At that point the two-year HSI certification card is $15.99 per person, which is exactly what HSI charges us, passed through at cost. The same certification runs $60 to $110 elsewhere. If the $15.99 is a hardship, tell us and a donor covers it. We don’t ask for proof and we don’t follow up.
Do I get a certification card?
Yes, an HSI adult CPR, AED, and First Aid card, good for two years. You’ll get it once you complete the class.
Can I cover someone else’s card?
Yes, and it’s the easiest way to help. Give $16 above and one person who couldn’t pay walks out certified.
When do I pay for my card?
After we confirm your class, not before. We email one link, you pay $15.99 for each person you’re covering, and that’s the only charge there is. If you’d rather not pay for it, say so and a donor covers your card.
Do I have to register?
Yes. Seats are limited by how many manikins we can bring, so every class is registration only. Each listed class shows how many seats are left and switches to Full once it fills, so you will know before you make the trip. If the one you want is full, join the list and we will tell you when the next one opens near you.
How long does it take?
Two to three hours, depending on the size of the group. Everyone gets time on a manikin, so a bigger room runs a little longer.
Where do you teach?
Our regular regions are the San Francisco Bay Area and the Dallas area, with classes in San Diego as schedules allow. We also travel in between when enough people from one area ask, so add your ZIP to the list even if you do not see us there yet.
Who teaches the class?
Carlos Rojo, a certified HSI instructor, teaches our courses. CareBridge runs them in partnership with the National Care Professionals Institute, which trains caregivers and RCFE and ARF administrators across California and Texas. If you are looking for caregiver certification or RCFE administrator training rather than CPR, that is where to go.
Do I need any experience?
None. Most people who come have never touched a manikin. Your instructor walks you through every step and stays with you while you practice.
What should I wear?
Something you can kneel in. You’ll be on the floor for part of the class. Bring water if you’d like.
Can my workplace or church host a class?
Yes, and we’d like that. Eight or more people and a room with floor space is all we need. Send the request form above and we will tell you whether we can make it work.
Learn it yourself, or pay for the person next to you.
Signing up is free and takes two minutes. The class takes two to three hours.