About Us
We are a non-profit educational training organization serving Polk County, FL We provide various certification trainings as well as free non-certification trainings.
Citizen CPR’s History
- 1985 Began teaching CPR in greater Lakeland, FL.
- 1988 Funded by Polk County Commissioniers to expand services throughout Polk County, FL.
- 2002 Began teaching Automated External Defibrillatin (AED) Training to non-healthcare courses.
- 2011 Started offering Hands Only CPR (Check, Call, Compress) classes to community.
- 2012 Initiated “Hands Only in Our Schools”.
- 2015 Citizen CPR celebrates 30 years!
Meet The Team
Cauney Bamberg, Executive Director
With more than 20 years in the non-profit sector, Cauney leads Citizen CPR into a new era of operations and with strong community ties across the county is strengthening relationships and educating the community on the impact and value to all of us to have a community filled with citizens able to make a difference by providing bystander assistance in the event someone suffers from a cardiac incident.
Laurel Connell, Office Manager
Efficiently running the administration of an office is a critical component to a business operation and Laurel is balancing numerous tasks to ensure that our Instructors are properly provided the tools needed to teach, that our students have a seamless entry into a certification program, that our community knows who to call and how to get help when they are seeking knowledge about CPR training. As an Instructor herself, Laurel understands the nuances of CPR training and is a “customer-centered” wealth of knowledge in the field of CPR training.
Karen Scites, Account Manager
Behind every great office staff is the customer service rep who meets the needs of a student with the kindest and most caring delivery of service. Karen is exceptional at taking care of those unique needs a student has after they have completed certification and are in need of their certification cards and certificates. She helps students who have lost or misplaced their card and works to get them compliant as quickly as their situation arises, she is there to solve their problem.
Lizette Batterton, Bookkeeper
No good operation is sustainable without efficient and effective financial management. With many years of financial management in her background, Lizette brings a sense of urgency to both our customers and our board of directors when ensuring that we have proper billing and transparent finances. As a non-profit charitable organization we are accountable to many and Lizette is here to ensure that accountability is top of mind for all involved.
Board of Directors
CHAIRMAN
Harvey Craven
EMS Dir, Highlands County (RET)
VICE CHAIR
Thomas E. Conger, SVP (RET)
SECRETARY
Diane Gibbs
BRMC Dir. Of Radiology, Cardiology & Cath Lab Services
TREASURER
Lizette Batterton
DIRECTOR
Philip Allen, Attorney
Peterson & Myers, P.A.
DIRECTOR
Maryemma Bachelder
Community Outreach Director, Lake Wales Medical Center
DIRECTOR
Jenny Blank, RN
Director of Patient Care Services
Winter Haven Hospital/Baycare
DIRECTOR
Robert Chapman, M.D.
Medical Director
Lakeland Volunteers In Medicine
DIRECTOR
Katy Dumont
Therapist
DIRECTOR
Emily Duncan, CEO (RET)
Lakeland Surgery & Diagnostic Center
DIRECTOR
Jackie Jordan, Nursing Prof Dev Spec.
Lakeland Regional Health
DIRECTOR
Kara Bailey, CNS/Chest Pain Coordinator
Lakeland Regional Health
DIRECTOR
Richard “Benny” Luke
Polk County Fire Rescue Chief (RET)
DIRECTOR
Debbra Nussell, Clinical Nurse Ed.
Watson Clinic, LLP
DIRECTOR
Alan “Rico” Rich, M.D. (RET)
Watson Clinic, LLP
DIRECTOR
Karen Warren (RET)
US Military Intelligence (Navy)
“Citizen CPR is an integral part of our community and plays a vital role in educating Polk County about cardiovascular disease and sudden cardiac death. The education that they provide enables individuals to learn bystander CPR and saves lives every day! We appreciate the programs they offer on campus at Lakeland Regional Health.”
Kara Bailey
Chest Pain Coordinator/Clinical Nurse Specialist, Lakeland Regional Health
“Citizen’s CPR programs play a key role in increasing the quality of life in our community by providing critical, life-saving skills to ordinary citizens. Because of their efforts, family, friends, and neighbors have been equipped with the ability to provide a first line of defense against sudden cardiac arrest.
First responder’s repeatedly see the benefits of Citizen’s CPR on the emergency scenes they encounter. Many times, non-emergency workers have called 911, initiated CPR and in some cases provided automatic external defibrillation… as a result of what they learned from this organization! This added level of training and awareness in our community serves to increase the success of advanced life-saving measures performed by firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics.
The key to reducing mortality caused by sudden cardiac arrest is early identification, early access, early CPR, and early defibrillation. Citizen’s CPR is working to increase the likeliness that this chain of events occurs; and that’s why we value their role in our community and value them as partners.”
Shane Reynolds
Rescue Chief Lakeland Fire Department
“Several years ago, I suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and I still wake up each day grateful and happy to be alive and well. Surviving was possible only because people nearby knew and provided immediate CPR until an AED was secured and I was successfully zapped. My luck in surviving can soon change from a rare event to a frequent happening as more and more people learn CPR.”
Dr. Rico Rich
Retired Physician, Board Member, and Survivor
“Citizen CPR is an outstanding organization that Lakeland Regional Health life support instructors are aligned with as their training center. They hold their instructors to the high standards of American Heart Association guidelines in helping staff maintain their Basic Cardiac Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support provider certification. It is a pleasure to work with them.”
Jacqueline Jordan RN, MSN, CCRN
Nursing Professional Development (NPD) Specialist
“Be someone’s hero and learn CPR. The life you save might be someone you love. More than 65% of CPR is performed by a bystander and more than 70% of sudden cardiac arrests occur in or near home.”
Harvey Craven
Board Chairman
Saving Lives with CPR and AEDS since 1985
Local Nurses Provide Community with Valuable CPR Training
ASHI and MEDIC First Aid support our communities and workplaces with CPR, AED and first aid training. Whether you need to meet regulatory requirements, or take a refresher course, our programs help professionals and bystanders respond quickly in emergency situations.
Support Citizen CPR
We are a non-profit educational training organization