PITTSBURGH — Ellie Breech has made some incredible saves in her lifetime. She holds the record for the most saves in Pitt women’s soccer history. But her best save came on Christmas Day 2023, when she performed CPR on her father for nearly 10 minutes, saving his life.
>>> Pitt soccer player saves her father’s life with CPR weeks after taking certification course <<<
“After that happened, there was a big shift in my life. I knew that I wanted to shift my career from engineering to something in health care,” Breech said. “As terrible a situation that I was in, I wanted to do everything in my power so other people don’t have to be in that situation.”
That’s why Breech is launching “Ellie’s Hands on Hearts.” She’s raising money to support Project Adam, an initiative of the Hearts Institute at UPMC Children’s Hospital.
“Project Adam supplies CPR educational materials to local communities. Everything from CPR dummies and AED training, so people can practice their placement on dummies. These resources are going to be going to local communities, specifically local and youth sports leagues,” Breech said.
Breech knew CPR from her days as a lifeguard, but she got a refresher in the spring of 2023. That’s when Pitt had all of its student athletes trained, following what happened to Pitt alum Damar Hamlin.
“Student athletes are so motivated and they’re so intentional, and who better to do the work than student athletes,” said UPMC Children’s Hospital EMS Director Dr. Sylvia Owusu-Ansah. “We know that the number one cause of death for student athletes is cardiac arrest. So to have them be empowered to save their own lives and their communities’ lives is just it’s unimaginable.”
Ellie’s Hands on Hearts can help pay that training and knowledge forward, in a big way.
“Fundraising is so important to the mission of UPMC Children’s Hospital, and to think that some of our student athletes in our local community want to give back, that says a lot about these student athletes,” said UPMC Children’s Hospital President Diane Hupp. “These dollars that these student athletes are raising go right back in to help our patients and our families, dollar for dollar that they’re raising.”
As Breech heads into a senior year full of big matches on the pitch and her college classes, her goal of saving lives is always at the forefront.
“It’s only 30 minutes to really, truly learn CPR, but those 30 minutes are so valuable and can save somebody’s entire life,” Breech said.
If you’re interested in donating to Ellie’s Hands on Hearts: https://www.justgiving.com/page/ellieshandsonhearts
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
