Tiny Hearts CPRWhich CPR certification do you actually need?
If nobody needs a card, take Family and Friends. It teaches infant and child CPR and choking relief and issues no certification. If you need documentation for a job, a school district, a daycare or a licensing board and you are not a clinician, take Heartsaver CPR, AED and First Aid. If you work or study in healthcare, take BLS for Healthcare Providers. Heartsaver and BLS are not interchangeable, and booking the wrong one usually means paying twice.
Family and Friends: the skill, no paperwork
This is a non certification course, built for people who want to be able to act rather than to prove they can. It is the curriculum behind Pam's CPR parties: infant and child CPR, choking relief, rescue breathing, and when to call 911. No written test, no card at the end.
For a household this is almost always the right answer, and it is the best value of the three, because the $595 covers up to ten people rather than one.
Heartsaver: the lay responder certification
Heartsaver is the course written for teachers, childcare and preschool staff, coaches, camp counsellors, personal trainers, church nursery volunteers and office first aiders. It covers adult, child and infant CPR, AED use and choking relief, with an optional first aid module covering bleeding, burns, allergic reactions and seizures.
It produces an American Heart Association course completion card. Pam issues them the same day. Details and pricing are on the Heartsaver page.
BLS: the provider course
BLS for Healthcare Providers assumes you will be working in a team, with equipment, in a clinical setting. It goes further than lay training: measured compression targets, bag mask ventilation, two rescuer CPR and the choreography of swapping without losing compression time.
Nurses, physicians, dentists and hygienists, respiratory therapists, paramedics, medical assistants, therapists and students in any of those programmes need this one. Pricing is on the BLS page.
Read the requirement literally before you book
Employers write these requirements precisely and then people paraphrase them. "CPR certified" is ambiguous. "AHA BLS Provider" is not. If your paperwork names a specific course, book that course. If it is vague, ask your employer rather than guessing, which is also what the American Red Cross and AHA training networks advise.
What Pam does not teach
ACLS, PALS and NRP are outside what Tiny Hearts offers, and she will tell you that rather than take a booking she cannot serve. For those you need a different training centre.
How long is any of it good for?
Certification cards run two years. See how long CPR certification lasts, and note that technique guidance changed in 2025, so a valid card does not necessarily mean current technique. That is covered in what changed in the 2025 guidelines.
Reading this is not the same as training
This page exists so the information is in your head before you need it. It is not a substitute for putting your hands on a manikin with an instructor watching. Skills fade, and the difference between knowing the steps and being able to do them under adrenaline is practice. If you are in Indianapolis, book a class. If you are not, find an AHA or Red Cross class near you.
Sources: AHA Family and Friends curriculum; American Red Cross.
Choosing the right class
Which CPR class do I need for a teaching job?
Almost always Heartsaver CPR, AED and First Aid. Check the exact wording your district uses before you book, because some ask specifically for the first aid module as well.
Will a Family and Friends class satisfy my employer?
No. Family and Friends is a skills course with no certification card. If a form has a box for a certification number, you need Heartsaver or BLS.
I am a nursing student. Which one?
BLS for Healthcare Providers. Nursing and allied health programmes almost universally specify BLS, and Heartsaver will not be accepted in its place.
Can one class cover a mixed staff?
Often yes. A common arrangement is BLS for clinical staff and Heartsaver for everyone else, run in the same visit. Ask about custom group training.
Give your village the gift of confidence.
Pam answers every message herself, usually the same day. Tell her roughly when and how many, and she will take it from there.