17 years ago, a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and emergency training business, called Code One Training Solutions, originated at the University of Connecticut. Both UConn Nursing alumni, co-founders Richard Shok (BSN’ 08) and Allison Shok (BSN’ 10) opened their newest training site in Storrs, Conn. with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, according to a press release.
Attendees that joined in the ribbon cutting included Mansfield Mayor Antonia Moran, Mansfield Fire Chief John Roache, Willimantic Fire Chief Marc Scrivener, UConn Nursing Dean Victoria Vaughan Dickson and several Code One C-suite executives.
“Today will go down as a special day in Code One history!” read an Instagram post caption regarding Friday’s ribbon cutting. “This morning, we opened our newest training site back where it all began: Storrs, CT, just walking distance from the University of Connecticut campus!”
Located at 9 Dog Lane, Suite 102 in Downtown Storrs, the new location serves to educate the campus community about CPR through classes and training programs, according to the press release. The location also includes an “outdoor-access AED enclosure” that anyone can access in case of an emergency.
Allison Shok explained that this marks the family-owned business’s 60th location, with other locations already in 15 different states. The Storrs location, according to Shok, was chosen for its convenience and proximity to UConn’s campus.
“[This] is office number 60 for us,” Shok said in an interview with The Daily Campus. “We span 15 states, from Maine down to Georgia… [The Storrs location is for] anybody that needs or wants CPR certification. We’ve tried to make a really convenient spot for them, right where they probably are, which is on the UConn campus or in the surrounding towns.”
In 2007, then-undergraduate students Richard and Allison Shok worked with the UConn School of Nursing to provide CPR certification classes for nursing students, according to Richard Shok. The training classes turned into a business and eventually expanded to locations in other states.
“We saw that there was a need for [consistent CPR classes for UConn nursing students] because we were just told to go out and find your own training, and everyone came back with a varying degree of certification,” Richard Shok explained in the interview. “Some people would not actually practice skills [while] some people would have a really good class. So, providing it on campus provided a really consistent, high-quality training experience, and we grew the business from there.”
According to Shok, a Willimantic location opened in 2010 and its proximity to UConn’s Storrs campus meant that students could complete their training there. However, it required that training equipment be delivered from Willimantic to the campus’s nursing building.
“Now, [the new Storrs location] is going to open up larger opportunity for people to be able to complete their training, and not just from the School of Nursing but campus-wide and region-wide, being able to come in and learn CPR, and feel comfortable with your skills,” Shok added.
Both Richard and Allison Shok used to work as nurses while running the business, eventually deciding on full-time entrepreneurship, they explained.
Richard Shok emphasized how important it is for people to confidently learn how to perform CPR in case of a sudden cardiac arrest.
“The rate at which people act in an emergency is pretty low. We’re talking like in the mid-40s percent for people that start CPR before EMS arrival, when somebody has a sudden cardiac arrest in the community,” Shok said. “So, our goal is really to be taking that number higher.”
Shok also explained the value of using an automated external defibrillator (AED) to deliver shocks to someone in cardiac arrest.
“The rate at which people receive a life-saving shock from a defibrillator is around 11 percent before EMS arrives, and you lose about 10 percent chance of survival every minute that goes [by] without that shock,” Shock said. “So, getting that device to the person’s side much faster is going to result in getting more lives saved.”