Fraud Alert
Fraudulent CPR in the News
Over the past few years, there has been a rash of fraudulent American Heart Association training courses throughout Northern California & the United States. Here is helpful guide that will help you find a valid AHA course.
Certification Fraud in Miami
CPR Certification Fraud in San Jose
CPR Fraud in Covina, CA
Fraudulent CPR Cards in Texas
Fraudulent CPR Cards in Chattanooga
Online Only CPR Companies
The American Heart Association does not certify trainers, doctors or training courses created by other organizations. Any claims that training products or materials are “AHA Certified,” “AHA Approved,” “AHA Compliant” or “created by AHA certified” people, where the “AHA” means the American Heart Association, are not true and are usually fake websites with fake certifications. The American Heart Association (AHA) does not give “Instant” anything or “Instant” wallet cards online. These websites are fake. All cards must be issued by an authorized training center of the American Heart Association. All online courses must be taken via the AHA Online portal, and skills test for the online courses must be done in person with a certified instructor or VAM (voice assisted manikin).
Zoom Courses
Many CPR companies teach American Heart Association courses over zoom. If you take the official BLS Online Heartcode or Heartsaver Online CPR and First-aid course, you can be monitored over zoom if you have the proper manikins in front of you. However, many companies skip the manikin practice and just email students their certification card. This is not a valid American Heart Association course.
What to do:
Email the American Heart Association at:
[email protected]
Written Test Only
Many CPR companies send their students an online test from eLearning.heart.org. You take the written test and then they immediately email you an American Heart Association certification card. This is not a valid American Heart Association course.
What to do:
Email the American Heart Association at:
[email protected]
Book Policy
If you are taking an instructor-led course, according to the American Heart Association rules, you must have the book “before, during, and after the class”.
If they loan a book to you, rent a book to you, or do not ask you to buy a book, you are taking a fraudulent course.
What to do:
Email the American Heart Association at:
[email protected]
Instructor to Student Ratio
The instructor to student ratio is very important, so that the instructor can properly monitor the students during the training. If you are taking a course and there is one instructor and more than 9 students, you should alert the American Heart Association.
BLS: 1 instructor to every 9 students
ACLS: 1 instructor to every 8 students
PALS: 1 instructor to every 8 students
What to do:
Email the American Heart Association at:
[email protected]
Classes Inside a Person's Home
Beware of taking a class inside of someone’s home or apartment. When you take a class inside of someone’s home, there are a lot of issues that come up such as:
Fire risk, safety hazards
Insurance
Unprofessional conduct
Personal safety risks
Course Length
Many CPR companies in Northern California teach shortened courses in order to save money. It does not matter if the class size is small or individual training one on one. In many cases, CPR companies list the start time of their course, but not the end time of their course. If the length of your course does not follow these guidelines, the course you are about to take or have taken is fraudulent.
BLS Must be: 3-4 hours
ACLS Must be 4-6 hours
PALS: Must be 4-6 hours
What to do:
Email the American Heart Association at:
[email protected]
Nurses and Professional Conduct
Nurses and many medical professionals in the state of California are required to follow a code of ethics. If nurses knowingly take a CPR course that does not follow proper guidelines, it is possible that they would have to retake the course.
If you are an administrator, you should make sure that you are sending your staff to a reputable American Heart Association Training Center.
Resuscitation Quality Improvement by the American Heart Association
Store locator is loading from StoreRocket Store Locator App..
To be 100% sure that you are taking a valid American Heart Association course, we recommend you attend the American Heart Association RQI BLS CPR, ACLS, or PALS course. This involves taking the official AHA Heartcode online course, and then skills testing on the VAM (voice assisted manikin). After the training, all students will receive the official American Heart Association certification card that is valid for two years.
Safety Training Seminars offers these courses in over 65 cities throughout Northern California.
View upcoming courses above.