Knowing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is kind of like having insurance. You hope you never have to use it, but there's a peace of mind associated with knowing it's there if you ever do.

The act of CPR is also one of the highest forms of respect and empathy that one human being can display for another.

"Because the investment of time and energy that it takes to learn it is very small, everyone should know it," said Ken Brennan, an emergency medical technician (EMT), a CPR and first aid instructor and the owner of Lancaster CPR. "Everyone knows someone who's going to need CPR. I think a lot of people feel if they need 911, they're going to get help in seconds. But that's not true. If a patient doesn't survive long enough, emergency medical services can't do their job."

Located at 1248 W. Main St., Suite L-1, Ephrata, Lancaster CPR offers instruction in the life-changing and life-altering practices of advanced cardiac support, pediatric advanced life support, first aid and CPR. In association with the American Heart Association, Lancaster CPR primarily trains health care professionals, but it also offers instruction to groups, churches, businesses, organizations and individuals.

"We predominantly provide the training that health care workers need to do their jobs," said Ken. "They need to be recertified every two years. Obviously, if you work in health care, the odds are much higher that you're going to use it. Depending on what you do, you'll probably use it twice in your life. For the general public, I'd say the odds are one in 100 that you're going to use it. But when you're dealing with a large group of people, heart attacks are going to be more common."

Lancaster CPR offers first aid training at its full classroom facility three days a week. The organization also offers on-site training for corporations or nonprofits.

Typically, Lancaster CPR's class sizes range from six to 30 individuals.

"Let's say you find someone on the ground," said Ken. "The first thing you have to do is make sure it's safe for you. Then you tap the person on the shoulder, and if they don't respond, you call for help, get someone to call 911 and try to get an AED (automated external defibrillator). You might check their breathing, and you might check their pulse. If you have to, start doing compressions on their chest, and decide if you want to give breaths."

"It's easy to learn," continued Ken. "What it comes down to is doing compressions on the chest. If you're doing something that resembles compressions, the person's chances are better than zero. If you're learning the basics of CPR, it only takes a half hour. But not everyone wants to learn to do this."

One of the keys to successfully administering CPR is immediacy and a sense of urgency.

"There's a very short window of opportunity, usually two to three minutes when someone goes into cardiac arrest," said Ken. "The more people who know CPR, the more likely we're going to be able to save lives. It should take less than 20 seconds to determine if CPR is necessary."

"Among the general public, about one in 500 people have taken a course," added Ken. "But if someone has been trained in CPR in high school, they don't really know anything now. That's why it's important to update it."

Ken originally started teaching CPR at Lancaster General Hospital. After he left the hospital, he began offering CPR instruction on his own, before he and his wife, Ashley Brennan, founded Lancaster CPR in 2015.

"There was a lot of demand not being met, and that's sort of how we got started," said Ken. "I started doing it myself on the side. The classes were relatively successful, and we just went from there. The business success hasn't changed because we were in the right place, at the right time, at the right location, under the right circumstances."

For additional information, go to http://www.lancastercpr.com.