GREAT BEND, Kan. — What began as a commitment to teaching CPR and First Aid has grown into a broader mission for Kansas CPR Training: helping businesses, schools, churches, childcare providers and other organizations prepare their people to respond when seconds matter.
Owner Dean Nuss has spent more than 15 years teaching life-saving skills and launched Kansas CPR Training in 2021. Since then, the company has provided CPR, AED and First Aid training to individuals and organizations across Kansas. Now, the Great Bend-based business is expanding its services with Active Violence Immediate Response Training (AVIRT), emergency preparedness planning, safety assessments and consulting.
The expansion represents more than the growth of a local business. It is an example of an entrepreneur identifying an unmet need, developing specialized expertise and creating a service that can strengthen organizations throughout the region and state.
“Our goal is not to create fear,” Nuss said. “Our goal is to replace uncertainty with preparation, confidence, and hope.”
Nuss said the idea to expand into active violence response training began after he was invited to teach CPR and First Aid to a church safety team. That experience prompted him to look more closely at how prepared organizations are for emergencies beyond traditional medical situations.
As he spoke with churches, businesses, schools and childcare providers, he found significant interest in practical training that could help employees and volunteers respond during situations they hope never occur. His research also found Kansas organizations seeking this type of specialized training from providers outside the state. Kansas CPR Training saw an opportunity to make the training more accessible through a Kansas-based provider.
AVIRT training focuses on situational awareness, decision-making during high-stress incidents, practical survival strategies and life-saving bleeding control techniques that can be used until emergency responders arrive. Participants learn skills such as controlling severe bleeding, packing wounds and applying tourniquets.
The training is designed to complement an organization’s existing emergency procedures rather than prescribe a single approach to security. Kansas CPR Training has also developed an Emergency Operations Plan and Training Manual covering situations ranging from active violence and medical emergencies to severe weather, fires, evacuations, lockdowns, shelter-in-place procedures and reunification.
One important step in the company’s expansion is its authorization through Kansas Child Care Training Opportunities (KCCTO) to provide the specialized in-person training to Kansas childcare professionals. Participants completing the course can receive three approved KCCTO continuing education hours toward annual State of Kansas training requirements.
Kansas CPR Training is also seeking ways to make training more accessible to organizations that may have limited budgets. Nuss shared his goal of securing grants and other funding that could help provide training to churches and childcare facilities at little or no cost.
That accessibility is particularly important to Nuss because emergency response often begins before professional responders can reach the scene.
The same philosophy drives the company’s continued emphasis on CPR and AED education. Nuss encourages businesses and organizations to consider whether employees would know how to respond if a coworker, customer or visitor suddenly experienced cardiac arrest. Kansas CPR Training also provides AEDs and helps organizations explore potential funding opportunities to make the equipment more affordable.
Kansas CPR Training is working with members of the Great Bend Police Department and Barton County Sheriff’s Office to gather input on law enforcement response procedures and best practices as the company continues developing its emergency preparedness programming.
Investing in workforce development is not limited to teaching technical skills needed to perform a job. It also means helping employees become more capable, confident and prepared. At the same time, supporting locally based entrepreneurs like Kansas CPR Training helps retain businesses and expertise within the community while creating services that can benefit employers, nonprofits and families throughout the region.
Kansas CPR Training’s expansion also demonstrates how a locally grown business can address needs far beyond Barton County. By building specialized services in Great Bend and making them available statewide, the company contributes to a stronger local business environment while extending Great Bend’s reach and reputation across Kansas.
The Great Bend Chamber of Commerce recently joined Kansas CPR Training for a ribbon cutting recognizing the company’s continued growth and expansion of services.
For Nuss, however, the milestone is ultimately measured by something much more important than business growth.
“As the owner of Kansas CPR Training, I sincerely hope no one ever has to use the information taught during an AVIRT class,” Nuss said. “However, if this training helps save even one life in Kansas, every hour invested in developing this program will have been worthwhile.”
Kansas CPR Training’s message summarizes the purpose behind that work simply: “Be the Reason Someone Survives.”
About Kansas CPR Training
Kansas CPR Training provides CPR, AED and First Aid certification, HSI Active Violence Immediate Response Training (AVIRT), Emergency Operations Plans, safety assessments and emergency preparedness consulting for businesses, schools, churches, childcare facilities and other organizations throughout Kansas. They can be found at kansascprtraining.com or 620-786-5372.
PHOTO CUTLINE: Kansas CPR Training owner Dean Nuss, center, is joined by Great Bend Chamber of Commerce representatives and community partners to celebrate the expansion of Kansas CPR Training’s services to include Active Violence Immediate Response Training (AVIRT). Pictured from left are Charell Owings, Chamber Ambassador and United Way of Central Kansas Executive Director; Arlen Schroeder, Chamber volunteer; Dale Hogg, Chamber Ambassador and owner of Hogg Strategies & Stories; Julie Mazouch, Chamber Member Success Manager; Dean Nuss, owner of Kansas CPR Training; Rich Baskerville, Chamber Ambassador and Mitchell K. Haney & Associates; Megan Barfield, Chamber President & CEO; and Nicci Henderson, Chamber Ambassador and Great Bend Economic Development staff member.
