EPHRATA — At Heart Matters CPR & 1st Aid in Ephrata, a banner hangs on the wall with the company logo. The words “Heart Matters” lie within a red heart owner and instructor Justina Heflin’s daughter drew, with cursive lettering trailing off to an irregular electrocardiogram line – a direct copy from Heflin’s son’s monitor before his heart surgery.

Heflin chokes up sometimes when she tells the story.

“That’s my kids,” she said. “And that’s my why.”

Heflin started Heart Matters in 2016 as a volunteer, she said. When she was brought on to McKay Healthcare & Rehab Center in Soap Lake to give classes, she made the logo official.

Now, Heflin gets students from all walks of life who want to be certified, she said, including medical professionals, dental office staff, construction workers, agricultural workers, flagging companies, daycare providers, families, church groups, Boy and Girl Scouts, mechanics, aviation students, teachers and bus drivers.

Because students have stayed home more this year, she has seen a lot of younger people wanting certification for their heightened babysitting roles, she said.

The pandemic did a lot more than change Heart Matters’ student demographic though, Heflin said. In March and April of 2020, it was shut down completely. After reopening in May, medical facilities still didn’t allow CPR trainers on site.

The American Heart Association offered a 90-day grace period for expired certification, Heflin said. So, for 90 days, work was dry.

Once those three months were up, though, those same people and facilities were desperate to train, but they were wary about extra people on campus, Heflin said.

“We had to think outside the box,” she said. “I did a couple classes in a parking lot.”

In June 2020, Heart Matters CPR & 1st Aid was able to open the doors to its first facility, where it could follow Department of Health guidelines. Five of those students met Friday morning at the facility to earn their CPR certification.

Heart Matters offers three classes per month in its classroom and offsite classes at various medical facilities in the region, Heflin said. Students walk away with their CPR and first aid card or Basic Life Support certification, validated through the American Heart Association.

On an as-needed basis, students can receive bloodborne pathogen training as well, Heflin said.

Heart Matters has expanded. It just hired a new instructor and is currently training and acquiring equipment. By summer, it hopes to offer Advanced Cardiac Life Support and Pediatric Advanced Life Support training for medical staff.

The next CPR training will be Feb. 3.

For more information, visit heartmatterscpr1staid.square.site.

Sam Fletcher can be reached via email at [email protected].