Local Business Leader to Chair 2026 Dayton Heart Walk

Immediate CPR can substantially improve survival odds.

In response, a local effort in Dayton, led by a community figure, seeks to bolster CPR education and fundraising through the 2026 Dayton Heart Walk.

His role centers on mobilizing executives and organizations in Dayton to participate, fundraise, and expand CPR training within the year-long campaign.

• The article reports that outside hospitals, nine in ten cardiac arrests result in death, and more than half of cases do not receive bystander CPR.
• Jason Hess, newly designated chair of the 2026 Dayton Heart Walk, serves as Director of Recruiting at Applied Research Solutions.

Its purpose, as described, includes fundraising, education, and corporate engagement intended to broaden access to CPR training, support vital research, and promote health equity.

The broader objective is to cultivate a community of “lifesavers” prepared to act during cardiac emergencies.

• The Heart Walk functions as the American Heart Association’s largest community-facing initiative.
• Under Hess’s leadership, the plan envisions recruitment of top local executives and participation from additional organizations to join the Heart Walk campaign.

It notes that 39% of U.S.

adults—approximately 103 million people—feel extremely or very confident in their ability to perform CPR, up from 33% in 2021.

This increase corresponds to roughly 17.7 million more adults expressing high confidence.

The article uses these survey data to underscore the potential impact of expanded CPR education through Dayton’s Heart Walk initiative.

• The piece cites findings from the American Heart Association’s 2024 CPR Perceptions Survey.
• Despite this progress, the survey indicates that 61% of adults still lack high confidence to act in a cardiac emergency, highlighting an ongoing gap in readiness.

• The Dayton Heart Walk is described as a vehicle for engaging businesses and community members in fundraising and education, with the ultimate aim of making CPR training more accessible and expanding the cadre of trained bystanders.
• Hess emphasizes the aspirational goal that at least one person in every household would feel confident to perform CPR, framing employer involvement as essential to ensuring readiness in real-world emergencies.

It also notes the AHA’s role as a publisher of CPR guidelines and a catalyst for initiatives like Nation of Lifesavers, which seek to increase the number of people capable of performing CPR.

• The article situates the Dayton effort within the AHA’s stance on resuscitation science, education, and training.
• The overarching objective associated with these efforts is to double the survival rate from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests by 2030, aligning the Dayton campaign with a global, evidence-informed goal.

The article provides contact details for organizations interested in participating, directing inquiries to Daniela Brill, the local Heart Walk Director.

• The Dayton Heart Walk is scheduled for Saturday, September 26, 2026, at Island MetroPark.
• Prospective participants are encouraged to learn more and register via the 2026 Greater Dayton Heart Walk portal referenced in the text.

It relies on publicly available survey metrics and organizational statements to frame the initiative.

It does not report specific programmatic metrics, interim outcomes, or cost estimates for the Dayton effort.

• The piece emphasizes the significance of timely bystander intervention in improving outcomes but does not provide new clinical data or trial results within the Dayton context.
• The source notes the ongoing nature of CPR education and the work required to translate confidence into bystander action.
• There is an explicit limitation in the article regarding the absence of detailed, site-specific outcomes, such as numbers of individuals trained, the anticipated reach of CPR education in Dayton, or the projected survival impact from the 2026 Heart Walk activities alone.

• The narrative positions corporate engagement as a lever to broaden CPR training access, potentially influencing workplace safety cultures and community preparedness.
• By highlighting gap years in confidence levels, the report implicitly supports ongoing investments in public education campaigns and training accessibility as components of broader cardiovascular health strategies.

• The article does not specify the exact educational modalities, curricula, or certification standards that will be deployed as part of the Heart Walk’s CPR education thrust.