PRESS RELEASE - WorldPoint Partners with Student-Led Beat The Beat to Make CPR Training More Inclusive—and Help Build the Next Generation of Lifesavers
Partnership supports free community CPR education, addresses disparities in bystander response, and puts more representative training equipment into the hands of students and community members
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 2026
CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill. and WESTFIELD, N.J. — What started as a high school research project has become something much bigger.
WorldPoint today announced a new partnership with Beat The Beat, a student-led nonprofit founded by Westfield, New Jersey high school senior and EMT Jessica Tan, to expand access to free CPR education while helping address an often-overlooked issue in cardiac arrest response: not everyone is equally likely to receive help.
For Tan, the issue became personal through a combination of research and real-world experience. She became an EMT at just 16 years old, gaining firsthand exposure to emergency response while studying disparities in who receives bystander CPR.
One issue stood out: the gender gap.
Research has shown that women experiencing cardiac arrest may be less likely than men to receive bystander CPR in certain settings. Researchers have also identified potential barriers ranging from fear of inappropriate touching or causing injury to misconceptions about women experiencing cardiac emergencies.
Tan decided that CPR education needed to address those barriers directly.
She launched Beat The Beat in April 2026, creating a student-led organization focused on making CPR/AED training free, accessible and inclusive. Beat The Beat now provides free CPR classes and American Red Cross certifications throughout Union County, New Jersey, with students playing a major role in teaching, volunteering and spreading awareness.
The organization has already conducted more than 15 classes and typically holds approximately one class each week. Demand has grown quickly, with classes frequently generating waitlists.
But as Beat The Beat grew, access to training equipment became one of its biggest limitations—particularly equipment that accurately represents the people students may someday be called upon to help.
That caught WorldPoint's attention.
“Jessica isn't simply teaching people how to perform CPR. She's asking a bigger question: are we preparingbpeople to act confidently no matter who is in front of them?” said Shelly Amato, Executive Vice President of WorldPoint. “That is exactly the kind of thinking we want to support. When Jessica told us that they had multiple male manikins but only one female manikin available for training, the connection to CPR Taylor was immediate.”
As part of the partnership, WorldPoint will donate CPR Taylor® adult/child manikins and Baby Tyler® infant manikins to Beat The Beat, helping the organization expand its free CPR classes and community outreach.
Why CPR Taylor Matters
WorldPoint developed CPR Taylor® around a simple idea: the people we practice on should better reflect the people we may someday need to save.
Unlike conventional CPR manikins designed around a single patient representation, CPR Taylor is a 3-in-1 training manikin that allows learners to practice CPR on an adult female, adult male and child using one manikin.
Its interchangeable female chest includes realistic anatomical features, giving students an opportunity to practice CPR and AED pad placement on a female patient—not simply talk about it.
The manikin is also available in multiple skin tones, allowing instructors to introduce more diversity into everyday CPR training.
For Beat The Beat, that design fits directly into its mission.
The organization has developed a gender-inclusive CPR policy calling for female manikins or chest attachments and education about disparities in CPR response, an approach that has already been adopted by local rescue squads.
“If we want people to respond confidently during a real cardiac emergency, their training should prepare them for real people,” said Jessica Tan, Founder and Executive Director of Beat The Beat. “That includes women. Having access to equipment like CPR Taylor allows us to make inclusive training part of the experience itself instead of simply something we discuss. WorldPoint understood immediately why that mattered to us.”
More Than an Equipment Donation
The partnership will extend beyond training manikins.
Beat The Beat and WorldPoint will work together to connect more students and schools with The CPR Ready Generation™, WorldPoint's growing student-led movement focused on helping young people move beyond simply knowing CPR to feeling ready to act in a cardiac emergency.
Beat The Beat will introduce interested students and schools to The CPR Ready Generation through its classes, outreach events and social channels, while WorldPoint will help amplify the work Beat The Beat students are doing in their communities.
WorldPoint has also offered to host orientation sessions for schools in the region interested in bringing The CPR Ready Generation to their students and will explore opportunities to participate in future New Jersey launch events.
For Amato, Jessica's story illustrates exactly why young people have become such an important part of WorldPoint's broader CPR-readiness efforts.
“Here is a high school student who became an EMT at 16, saw a problem, researched it and then decided to do something about it,” Amato said. “She didn't wait until she had a degree, a title or someone's permission. She started teaching people. She built a team. She created a policy. And now she's helping change how people in her community think about CPR. That's the kind of leadership we want more young people to see.”
Tan, now a high school senior, plans to continue studying public health and public policy, with an interest in using both education and legislation to address health disparities.
And Beat The Beat continues to grow.
Its free classes attract teenagers, parents, babysitters and other community members, with much of the organization's work being led by high school students themselves.
That makes the partnership especially fitting for WorldPoint.
“There is a line we use often with The CPR Ready Generation: training someone is important, but getting them ready to act is the real goal,” Amato added. “Jessica and Beat The Beat are already putting that idea into practice. We're proud to help them reach more people—and hopefully inspire a lot more students to realize they can make this kind of difference too.”
About Beat The Beat
Beat The Beat is a student-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Westfield, New Jersey, dedicated to providing free, inclusive CPR/AED education and certification while addressing disparities in emergency response. Founded by high school student and EMT Jessica Tan, the organization brings together student volunteers, emergency response partners and community members to expand access to lifesaving education throughout Union County and beyond.
Learn more at BeatTheBeat.org.
About WorldPoint
WorldPoint is a leading provider of healthcare and emergency training products, serving educators, healthcare systems, simulation centers, EMS and fire agencies, schools, CPR instructors and other training organizations nationwide. WorldPoint offers thousands of products from many of the industry's leading brands alongside its own innovative training solutions, including CPR Taylor®, Baby Tyler® and CPR Tommi®.
WorldPoint is also the organization behind The CPR Ready Generation™, a student-led initiative focused on creating a generation of young people who are not only trained in CPR and AED response, but confident and ready to act when every second matters.
Defibtech serves as a Founding Sponsor of The CPR Ready Generation™, supporting the movement’s mission to expand CPR and AED awareness, empower young people to take action during cardiac emergencies, and help build a stronger culture of readiness in schools and communities nationwide.
Learn more at CPRReadyGeneration.com and WorldPoint.com.
Media Contact
CPR Ready Generation & WorldPoint
450 E. Congress Pkwy., Suite D
Crystal Lake, IL 60014
847-465-3200
CPRReadyGeneration.com / WorldPoint.com
