If you listen carefully during certain days at the Canonsburg General Hospital, you can hear this sound echoing in the halls.

"One, two, three, four, five! Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough! Cough!" It's not the chant of cheerleaders, an exercise class, or even a strange cult.

It's a group of adolescents learning how to rescue a choking baby.

"If they know what to do, they can make a difference. They can save someone's life," said registered nurse and children's services coordinator Andrea Davis, who heads the hospital's Safe Sitters program, which teaches kids the ins and outs of baby-sitting.

The medically-oriented program offers a one-day class for 11- to 13-year-olds, who learn everything from basic life-saving techniques and safety tips, to first aid, behavior management, how and when to summon help, and even what to do if a parent comes home after having too much to drink.

In such cases, the program teaches kids to use a "safety signal" to let their parents know they need a ride home, without offending their clients.

Instructors are certified through a workshop offered by Safe Sitter, a national organization founded in 1980 by pediatrician Dr. Patricia A. Keener, who launched the program after a nurse's 18-month-old daughter choked to death while under the care of an adult baby sitter, who didn't know how to handle the emergency.

According to the organization's Web site, Dr. Keener taught the first Safe Sitter class in an Indianapolis middle school two weeks after the baby's death. Since that first class of 18 students, more than 450,000 young people have completed the course, which is offered in all 50 states.

Safe Sitters has been a fixture at the Canonsburg hospital for more than 20 years, where hundreds of adolescents have graduated from the program.

Students learn how to rescue a choking infant and how to change a diaper by using a specially designed baby doll. They practice back blows and chest compressions, and how to support a baby's head and neck.

They review a packet of information that includes instruction on baby-sitting as a business, preventing injuries and problem behavior, and other child care essentials.

"I didn't think I'd really need to know all this for baby-sitting," said 12-year-old Katie Dessart of South Strabane, as she learned choking techniques from instructor Karen Dudiak, a nurse who has been teaching the classes for more than five years.

Katie said she baby sat her 9-year-old sister once, and hopes to put her new skills to work baby-sitting for friends at church.

"It sounded so easy, but it's a lot more than I thought," Katie said. "It's still pretty fun, but you have to be more careful than I thought."

The reaction was about the same from 11-year-old Blake Rohrbacher, also of South Strabane.

"I learned how to save a choking baby," said Blake, one of two boys to attend two eight-member classes recently. Blake attended with his 12-year-old brother, Ryan Rohrbacher.

The pair came to the class to learn how to take care of their 2-month-old cousin, and to learn when to call 911 vs. a parent or neighbor.

Ms. Dudiak said the vast majority of students are still girls, although the number of boys attending has steadily risen over the years.

"They all seem to enjoy it, even the boys," Ms. Davis said.

She said the organization's motto, "better sitters today, better parents tomorrow," has held true for many of the students, who retain much of what they learn for years.

"This actually helps them become better parents," said Ms. Davis.

The program charges a $40 fee, which includes a T-shirt, certificate of completion, and first-aid reminder cards. To register, call 1-877-284-2000.

For more information, visit www.safesitter.org.