From Baby CPR to Downstate READY
By Office of the President | Oct 6, 2026
A demonstration at Downstate’s Community Baby Shower this summer sparked an excellent idea: more people across campus could benefit from a chance to practice what to do in an emergency. As part of its 60th anniversary, the School of Health Professions (SOHP) turned that idea into Downstate READY.
This new initiative’s first workshop, held on September 22 as part of the School of Health Professions’ 60th anniversary, brought more than 75 Downstate students and employees together for an interactive hour of practice. Participants worked through adult and infant CPR techniques, learned about AED use, and practiced responding when an infant or toddler is choking. The session focused on building familiarity and confidence; it was a preparedness workshop, not a CPR certification course.
Vikram Pagpatan, Ed.D., OTR/L, BCP, Interim Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives and Associate Professor of Occupational
Therapy, led the workshop with Vanessa Vales-Lewis, Ph.D., MAT, Assistant Dean of the School of Health Professions. Earlier this summer, Dr. Pagpatan
had demonstrated infant first aid at the Baby Shower, helping bring the need for accessible,
hands-on instruction into focus.
Participants completed surveys before and after the workshop. Those responses will give the SOHP team a way to examine what people knew coming in and how the experience affected their confidence and understanding. The team plans to build on that feedback after the next session.
Downstate READY demonstrates the commitment of Brigitte C. Desport, DPS, OTR/L, BCP, Interim Dean of the School of Health Professions, to sharing the School’s expertise across campus. The skills participants practiced are relevant well beyond a healthcare setting: an emergency can happen at work, at home, or in the community.
Thank you to Drs. Pagpatan and Vales-Lewis, Dean Desport, and everyone who took part in the first session. The next Downstate READY workshop is scheduled for Friday, November 20, from noon to 1 p.m. in PHAB Hall B. #BeDownstateReady!