East End market employee champions Virginia’s first interactive CPR training kiosk

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Learning a life-saving skill now takes just minutes in Richmond, thanks to a new high-tech installation. The American Heart Association has launched the very first mobile Hands-Only CPR kiosk in Virginia, and it's already proving to be a huge hit in the city’s East End.

For Rodney Saunders, a store director at the Market at 25th Street, practicing on the interactive kiosk is now part of his daily routine.

Rodney Saunders celebrating his high score on the kiosk (Photo: Madison Moore, 8News,

"I do it every day, pretty much. And it has 'Stayin Alive' music going on when you, when you're doing your compressions and stuff," Saunders said, referencing the disco classic that helps users keep the correct rhythm.

Saunders’s dedication is a way of honoring his late colleague, Jason Chalmers, who died of a cardiac event.

Drawing of Jason Chalmers (Photo credit: American Heart Association)

"He actually passed away in his car, taking his child to school, and his kid didn't know how to do CPR," Saunders recounted. "Not only a good worker, but a real, real good friend. When they brought this idea to us, I was the first one to jump on it because for me personally, I didn't know how to do it myself."

The kiosk is the first of its kind in the state, offering Saunders and all community members a chance to learn the critical skill of Hands-Only CPR in a fun, interactive way. The full training takes just about three minutes.

Michelle Nostheide, Executive Director for the American Heart Association, emphasized the quality of the immediate feedback.

"You get a test at the end to see if you're using, deep enough compressions, if you're using the right pace, so that it gives you some really good feedback so you can continue to practice and get better," Nostheide said.

The AHA's choice to launch the kiosk in the East End was a deliberate strategy to address health inequities.

"We know that life expectancy is about 20 years lower here than it is across the river and west over hills. And we know that people are at higher risk here," Nostheide explained.

The hope is that by making training easily accessible in community hubs, more people will be prepared to act when a cardiac emergency happens -- especially since 70% of cardiac arrests that occur outside of a hospital happen in homes or public places.

The mission is already proving successful with Saunders, who now feels ready to intervene.

"If anybody just say, 'hey, we need you to, help do CPR,' I can just jump on it and do it," Saunders stated confidently.

The kiosk is mobile and will move to nine different locations across the Richmond and Central Virginia community over the next three years.