JONES COUNTY, Ga. — After 16 years in the trauma unit, Senesta Roberson was looking for a change. What she found inspiring was helping those when they may least expect it. Roberson opened her business M.A.G.S CPR Life Changing Destiny, LLC in late June. She says while certification does cost, you should know the basics.
"Everyone should know CPR. Even if you do nothing but hands-on CPR, hands-on CPR is better than no CPR at all, so if you don't want to be certified, you still need to know the technique," Roberson said.
Roberson said the initials "M.A.G.S." comes from her grandchildren's names. The business name is "motivation, anticipation, guidance, and service." M.A.G.S. is not only an American Heart Association-certified center, it's also a business center. She offers notary, printing, faxing, and resume help services. The center is also affiliated with Eyes on Health in Atlanta, another CPR service offered to those in the area. While reaching out to the community to learn CPR, she's also making history.
"I am the first Black CPR service in this Macon area. I am the first training site," Roberson said.
Sheri Fritz has been a nurse for 14 years. She says everyone should know CPR in order to recognize someone in distress.
"You never know when someone you know or don't know will have a cardiac arrest -- all of a sudden, they're falling down in front of you, you don't know what's going on," Fritz said.
Fritz said she looked on the American Red Cross website to find the next available Basic Life Support training class. Her BLS certification was going to expire soon and she needed to renew. She found other classes were not unavailable in Macon or too far out to schedule. When she found M.A.G.S., she said it was easy to schedule and it let her continue as a nurse.
"You always have to be certified. If you let that lapse, you can't do your job. You're not even allowed to go in the hospital," Fritz said.
As an American Heart Association location, Roberson can have more training sessions for people in Macon or Jones County. She says being accessible is a wonderful feeling.
