Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola and Visit Pensacola successfully launched the inaugural Summer Safe Pensacola Series, a first-of-its-kind initiative in Northwest Florida designed to equip frontline hospitality workers with critical emergency response skills.
The launch event, held on June 16, 2026, at the Holiday Inn Resort on Pensacola Beach, provided free, hands-on training to 50 local hospitality workers. Attendees represented a broad cross-section of the tourism industry, including staff from hotels, restaurants, attractions, and tourist organizations, as well as local surfing and tennis instructors.
Medical and trauma experts from Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola, Studer Family Children’s Hospital, Escambia County Emergency Services, Lifeguard AirCare 3, and Nemours Children’s Health led the instruction. The curriculum focused on three vital emergency response areas:
- Hands-only CPR: Bystander intervention through immediate CPR can triple survival rates for individuals experiencing cardiac arrest.
- Stop The Bleed: Participants practiced techniques to control severe bleeding, a leading cause of preventable death following traumatic injury.
- Water Safety Skills: Training provided drowning prevention resources tailored for children, individuals with autism and special needs, and adults with dementia.
"We are thrilled to partner with Visit Pensacola to offer this free training event and equip hospitality workers with lifesaving skills to respond when seconds count," said Will Condon, President and CEO of Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola. "Using the expertise of the region’s only Level I Trauma Center to help keep residents and visitors safe aligns perfectly with our mission".
The program serves as a strategic response to the area's high visitor volume. "With more than 2.5 million visitors traveling to the Pensacola Bay Area each summer, expanding access to emergency response training helps create a safer environment for residents and visitors alike," said Nicole Stacey, Vice President of Destination Development for Visit Pensacola.
For frontline staff, the training provided practical preparedness. "It's so important to get your frontline people trained—as far as bartenders, maintenance, housekeepers, anything," said attendee Brandi Crowley, Director of Sales for Residence Inn Pensacola-Airport. "You never know who might be walking by and see something".
The Summer Safe Pensacola Series will continue with two additional events:
- August 5: Holiday Inn Resort on Pensacola Beach.
- September 9: Perdido Key Visitors Information Center.
Hospitality workers interested in participating can register via the Visit Pensacola website.1
