CPR Fraud?

[Kitiger, RN]

I don't know if the CPR course I signed up for is legitimate. They claim to give an American Heart Association certification, but their website is [email protected].

After I paid by credit card, they sent an email saying that I also have to sign up and pay for the "separate online element" prior to the skills session that I had already paid for. The skills portion is done by zoom, in a room by myself.

The email said there is a no refund/no cancelation policy, and if I cancel, I will never be able to get another certification (I will be placed on a do-not-certify list).

When I called the American Heart Association, I was told that they do not recognize this website. 

I looked into this at 3 am, after a 12-hour shift. The email they first sent me pointed out that I would soon need my CPR certification. When I looked at my CPR card, it showed that it had expired! I panicked. I didn't realize that I simply hadn't put the new one in my wallet. (I outdate in June.) 

What do you think? Is this legitimate?

[Rose_Queen, BSN, MSN, RN]

Looking at the sample cards, they are not AHA cards. Does that automatically mean fraud? Not necessarily- more investigation would be needed. But if your employer states AHA, they will not meet your needs. 

[Kitiger, RN]

My red flags are:

1) When I tried to pay by credit card, the card wouldn't go through at first. But when my husband tried the next morning, it went through. (I forgot to mention this in my first post.)

2) The skills portion is done by zoom. I have never done it that way. Is that a COVID protocol?

3) No refund. And if you reschedule, you have to pay twice, the old time and the new time. I've never had this with CPR recerts.

4) If you cancel, you will never be able to get another certification (I will be "placed on a do-not-certify list"). Again, this doesn't sound right.

4) The email said that I also have to sign up and pay for the "separate online element" prior to the skills session that I had already paid for. But I don't know how much that would be.

5) Although they say give an American Heart Association certification, their website is [email protected] and when I called the American Heart Association, I was told that they do not recognize this website. 

[subee, MSN, CRNA]

Kitiger said:

My red flags are:

1) When I tried to pay by credit card, the card wouldn't go through at first. But when my husband tried the next morning, it went through. (I forgot to mention this in my first post.)

2) The skills portion is done by zoom. I have never done it that way. Is that a COVID protocol?

3) No refund. And if you reschedule, you have to pay twice, the old time and the new time. I've never had this with CPR recerts.

4) If you cancel, you will never be able to get another certification (I will be "placed on a do-not-certify list"). Again, this doesn't sound right.

4) The email said that I also have to sign up and pay for the "separate online element" prior to the skills session that I had already paid for. But I don't know how much that would be.

5) Although they say give an American Heart Association certification, their website is [email protected] and when I called the American Heart Association, I was told that they do not recognize this website. 

Fraud.  Fraud.  Fraud.  They are trying to pressure you with this "lifetime ban".  Like it's the last widget available and you have to buy it NOW!

[Kitiger, RN]

subee said:

Fraud.  Fraud.  Fraud.  They are trying to pressure you with this "lifetime ban".  Like it's the last widget available and you have to buy it NOW!

That's what I'm afraid of. I don't want to throw good money after bad. I thought maybe some of you might have heard of this organization.

[chare]

Is this the site you are referring to: https://www.cpraedfirstaid.org/about? If so, I think your concerns are valid.

If you are interested in completing an AHA BSN course, you can find a training center through their Instructor Network by following the Find a Class link.

The AHA currently offers BLS in both a blended as well as completely in class format.  If you opt to complete Heartcode BLS, the blended option, you might consider contacting a training center to verify that can complete the skills verification.

Best wishes.

[JKL33]

Yeah, I would've been out about the time they requested all my info before letting me see registration info for my region.

I did have to do blended format last time I recertified, due to covid.

Anyway, are you saying that after you got your registration information there was additional info at that time which indicated this is not an AHA certification?

If so I would request a refund on that basis and if (when) they say no I would report it to credit card (do a charge back). Have screenshots which document the misrepresentation.

[Kitiger, RN]

JKL33 said:

Yeah, I would've been out about the time they requested all my info before letting me see registration info for my region.

I did have to do blended format last time I recertified, due to covid.

Anyway, are you saying that after you got your registration information there was additional info at that time which indicated this is not an AHA certification?

If so I would request a refund on that basis and if (when) they say no I would report it to credit card (do a charge back). Have screenshots which document the misrepresentation.

Good advice; we are doing this. I didn't realize that it wasn't an AHA certification until I called the American Heart Association and they said they didn't recognize this website.

By "blended format", do you mean part online and part on site? Did you have to do the skills portion in a room by yourself while on zoom?

[chare]

Kitiger said:

[...]

By "blended format", do you mean part online and part on site? Did you have to do the skills portion in a room by yourself while on zoom?

Yes, if you opt for the blended format you will complete a number of online modules, as well as the course examination on line.  After completion of the online portion you need to schedule a skills evaluation at an AHA training center.  The skills evaluation can be completed either with an instructor or using a voice activated manikin.  I'm not aware of any AHA training centers using Zoom video for skills evaluation, nor do I think the AHA allows this.

[RatherBHiking, BSN, RN]

There are a lot of these online CPR certification sites. Yes they can "certify" you and give you a card by doing everything online but healthcare workers are held to a higher standard and must be certified through the AHA and they only allow a hands on in person practice/demonstration even during Covid. These sites are misleading for anyone that's not aware of that. They do teach AHA content usually but it's not recognized by the AHA as an official course because they are knock offs.

Who cares if they blacklist you? Quit giving them money. You could try reporting them to the Better Business Bureau and asking your credit card company to refund your money (no guarantee but worth a try).

Can you not get a class through your employer? Even if they don't offer that they can help you find a local class that's legit.

[Kitiger, RN]

RatherBHiking said:

There are a lot of these online CPR certification sites. Yes they can "certify" you and give you a card by doing everything online but healthcare workers are held to a higher standard and must be certified through the AHA and they only allow a hands on in person practice/demonstration even during Covid. These sites are misleading for anyone that's not aware of that. They do teach AHA content usually but it's not recognized by the AHA as an official course because they are knock offs.

Who cares if they blacklist you? Quit giving them money. You could try reporting them to the Better Business Bureau and asking your credit card company to refund your money (no guarantee but worth a try).

Can you not get a class through your employer? Even if they don't offer that they can help you find a local class that's legit.

I plan to do a Red Cross course that is all classroom (no part is on-line). My company accepts both AHA and Red Cross. 

I think the money I paid to cpraedfirstaid.org is gone, although we will try to get it back.

[JKL33]

Kitiger said:

By "blended format", do you mean part online and part on site? Did you have to do the skills portion in a room by yourself while on zoom?

Yes.

I didn't think anything of it at the time due to covid. I'm kind of second-guessing now as a result of your post, although I did get (what seems to be) a legit AHA card out of it.

Your post made me curious on a couple of levels. Number one, regarding how you said that you called and they stated they didn't recognize the website you asked about. I wouldn't necessarily expect whoever answers the phone to produce an accurate answer that quickly given that there have to be thousands+ of legit instructors in the country. So I started at the AHA site and used their tool to locate instructors.  Not sure what to say - there are MULTIPLE results just in my general region that are clearly outdated, as in little hospital used to be called County General and is now Big Name Corporate , with name change 5, 10+ years ago and still listed with outdated name and contact info through AHA locator tool.

So I think my suspicion is correct that phone call to them might not produce information that is accurate. Their own locator tool is not accurate.

Next, I decided to just go to random spot on US map (via AHA course locator tool), click on it and see what pops up there. Here's an example

https://CPR-n-more.com/

States legit AHA, states Zoom use. Other than the Zoom aspect most details seem in line with what would be expected from legit instruction site.

As a general comment: Although I would not knowingly pay for a knock off course, or a course that does not result in AHA certification, I am ambivalent about it, at best. I feel their "captive audience" (thousands and thousands, maybe millions of healthcare workers) and monopoly on this is probably quite lucrative. The number of times I have proven my competency through legitimate means while using nasty sticky mannequins lying on cheap tables with wheels, no step stool, while being overseen by a nurse-who-was-never-a-good-nurse....well, most of the times I have re-certified it has been exactly this. So I don't get too high and mighty about AHA this and that. I have no idea what about being observed over an electronic medium is all that different and inferior to what I have just described.

Anyway, I hope you get your money back.