If you have taken a corporate onsite CPR training course, chances are that you have learned how to use an automated external defibrillator, or AED. However, before you use an AED on someone that you suspect is experiencing a cardiac arrest episode, you should take a moment to check on the individual.
If you witness an individual collapsing or passing out, or if you come upon an individual who is already unconscious, you should confirm that the individual is unresponsive. You should shout and shake them to make sure they’re not just sleeping. Keep in mind though, that you should never shake an infant or very young child. Instead, you should pinch children in an attempt to wake them up.
What to Do
Before getting out the automated external defibrillator, you should call for emergency personnel. If there is someone else with you, have them call for emergency personnel and get the AED while you are performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which you can learn through a corporate onsite CPR training class.
After calling for emergency personnel and ensuring that they are on the way, you should check the person for a pulse and for breathing. If you notice that either of these are irregular or even absent, you should make preparations to use the AED as soon as possible. Cardiac arrest episodes can result in death if not treated within a few minutes.
If you did not witness the collapse and there is no one who knows the length of time that an individual has been unconscious, or if you don’t have an automated electronic defibrillator, you should do two minutes of CPR. You will be instructed in the proper CPR techniques in a corporate onsite CPR training course.
The American Heart Association encourages you to use “hands-only” CPR instead of traditional CPR. The point is to encourage the oxygenated blood to flow through the individual’s vital organs. Teens and adults have enough oxygen in their bodies to keep their vital organs alive until help arrives. You should do compressions at a rate of 100 per minute.
After you use an AED, or if you do not have access to an AED, you should keep giving CPR until medical help arrives or the person has been revived. You should try to limit your pauses between cycles of CPR.
If you do have access to an AED, after two minutes, you should use the AED to check the individual’s heart rhythm and then, if necessary, give another shock. If another shock is not necessary, simply continue offering cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
How to Use an AED
If you take a corporate onsite CPR training class, you will learn how to properly use an AED. If you have not taken one and don’t have plans in the near future to do so, the following instructions can help you.
Automated External Defibrillators are user-friendly machines that even the untrained bystander can use in order to save the life of an individual who is suffering from a cardiac arrest episode.
Due to the fact that an AED uses electric shock, you will need to make sure that the victim is not near any water or puddles. If they are, try to move them to a dry area – avoid any type of wetness when delivering shocks to a victim.
Turn on the power to the AED. You will see that the device will give you both on-screen prompts and voice prompts on how to use it.
First, expose the victim’s chest. If their chest is wet, dry it. You will see that the AED has sticky pads that have sensors known as electrodes. Look at the pictures on the AED and apply the pads to the victim’s chest as instructed. Make sure that the pads have a strong connection with the skin.
Make sure to remove any metal necklaces or underwire bras – metal could conduct electricity and cause burns. Also, check for any medical devices or body piercings. If either of these are present, keep the pads at least one inch away from them.
Make sure electrodes are connected properly to the AED and no one is touching the victim. Then, press the “analyze” button and the machine will check the victim’s heart rate. If shock is necessary, the AED will let you know when to do so.
As you are instructed in corporate onsite CPR training courses, you will begin or continue CPR until medical personnel arrive or the victim has been revived.
Sources:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/aed/howtouse
]]>There are many different situations when CPR can potentially save a person’s life or minimize brain damage and other health problems. Though use of CPR is not always enough to guarantee a person’s survival, when used correctly, it can dramatically increase their chances. CPR training in NJ can help you learn how to identify these life-threatening situations and how to immediately respond. With CPR training in NJ, you’ll have to tools to potentially save the life of a friend, coworker, family member, or stranger.
Situations to Use CPR
When you see someone unconscious or collapsed on the ground, they may need CPR and other forms of assistance. CPR, also known as cardio pulmonary resuscitation, can help restore breathing and beating of the person’s heart and save their life. Individuals who complete AED and CPR training in NJ are better prepared to identify people who might need this type of help.
Some situations that may require CPR include drowning, suffocation, heart attack, allergic reaction, choking, and electric shock. One of the most common situations when CPR is needed is during sudden cardiac arrest. This occurs when a person’s heart suddenly stops beating. This is why it’s so important to check breathing and heartbeat when you encounter someone who looks unconscious.
Cardiac arrest typically happens after a person experiences an especially long or severe type of heart arrhythmia, which is when the heart beats in an irregular rhythm or too slowly or quickly. Anyone could have minor cases of arrhythmia, but some people experience arrhythmia more often or have more serious cases of arrhythmia, and this makes sudden cardiac arrest more likely. Some common causes of arrhythmia include:
Coronary Heart Disease
If you have coronary heart disease, your arteries slowly clog with cholesterol and other deposits. This reduces the amount of blood that can flow to your heart and affects the ability of your heart to beat at a proper rhythm.
Heart Attack
During a heart attack, a person may experience ventricular fibrillation, which is when the lower chambers of the heart wither but do not contract effectively. This is one of the most common causes of heart attacks and one of the most common reasons why people need CPR or AED. CPR training in NJ can teach you how to recognize when this is happening and help you provide treatment quickly and correctly.
Congenital Heart Disease
Some people are born with abnormalities in their heart, and this can make the risk of heart attack and arrhythmia higher. This can even affect adolescents and children and cause them to experience sudden cardiac arrest. When providing CPR to younger victims, it’s very important that the person understand what they are doing. Courses that provide CPR training in NJ teach participants how to provide CPR to different ages, so that you are always prepared during an emergency.
Problems With the Electrical System
Every person’s heart is controlled by electrical signals. These electrical signals tell the heart when to contract, how fast to contract, and how much to contract. When the electrical system is working correctly, the heart beats a normal rhythm, but sometimes the electrical systems stops working the way it’s supposed to. These types of problems are known as primary heart abnormalities. Though rare, there are some conditions that can cause these types of abnormalities such as long QT syndrome and Brugada’s syndrome.
These are only a few of the possible causes of arrhythmia and sudden cardiac arrest. There are many different reasons why a person may suddenly require medical attention, and that’s why CPR training in NJ is so important. Contact us to learn more about our programs and services.
Sources:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/sudden-cardiac-arrest/basics/causes/con-20042982
]]>Every year, there are more and more AEDs in public areas, shopping malls, and office buildings throughout New Jersey. In addition, corporate onsite CPR training is becoming more widespread as businesses are doing everything they can to increase safety in the workplace. These devices are helping save people’s lives when they have sudden heart problems that result in cardiac arrest. Though these machines are easy to use, it is still very important that more people receive AED training and CPR training in NJ. The proper training will increase the chance that someone will be able to use the device properly, and research has shown that these devices can help double or triple a person’s chance of surviving sudden cardiac arrest.
Every minute counts in these types of emergencies. Someone with AED and CPR training in NJ has the knowledge and skills to immediately respond to an emergency, increasing the chance that the person survives. If you have never seen or used an AED before, it can be intimidating, especially when someone else’s life is on the line. Completing AED and CPR training in NJ will help give you the training and confidence to respond correctly in any emergency without hesitation.
What Is an Automated External Defibrillator?
An AED, also known as an automated external defibrillator, is a small device that can help save the life of someone who has experienced sudden cardiac arrest. The device has electrodes that you attach to the person’s chest, and these electrodes can detect the person’s heartbeat and determine if they need an electric shock to restore the normal rhythm of their heart. The device can then deliver that electric shock to the person’s heart and help them before it’s too late. In combination with CPR training in NJ, the use of an AED can dramatically increase a person’s chance of survival.
AEDs are lightweight, portable, and powered by batteries, making it very easy to carry them to any victim and begin using them. They are normally located in malls, offices, and in public places, so that they can be used in an emergency. Because AEDs are automated, they are very easy to use. With the training in a corporate onsite CPR training session, anyone can learn how to use one effectively. The computer in an AED is able to analyze the person’s heartbeat and will prevent you from using an AED on a person who doesn’t need it. The computer will also help assist you in using the product and will tell you when to provide the electric shock. CPR training in NJ can provide more familiarity with the device, which ensures that it used 100% correctly.
When Do You Use an AED?
If a person’s heart has suddenly stopped beating, their body goes into sudden cardiac arrest, and this is when an AED can be used to potentially save that person’s life. Classes for CPR training in NJ can show you how to recognize when someone is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest and how to quickly respond.
If someone suddenly loses consciousness and collapses, you should immediately try to wake them up and get them to respond. If they do not respond, you need to check their breathing and pulse and call 9-1-1. At this point, you will need to immediately provide CPR and use the AED before the medical professionals arrive. This type of response, if performed correctly, can dramatically increase someone’s chances of surviving. With corporate onsite CPR training, you can learn exactly what to do and how to do it during a future emergency. Contact us for more information about CPR training in NJ.
Sources:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/aed/howtouse
]]>Today CPR is one of the most accepted and standardized techniques used by emergency responders, and corporate onsite CPR training is offered in almost every major company and business in the United States. Though this has been the case for decades, there was a time when the technique was less accepted by the public and the medical community.
Like other medical breakthroughs, CPR was not discovered all at once. Instead it was slowly studied and refined until it became the standardized life-saving procedure that it is today. From its beginnings in the 1700s, cardiopulmonary resuscitation has continued to evolve as doctors have learned more about the human body, and now it is an extremely effective way to provide emergency medical response to a person suffering from sudden cardiac arrest.
The Beginning
The first mentions of the procedures that would one day become CPR appeared in the middle of 18th century. The Paris Academy of Science began to endorse mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for drowning victims in 1740.
Around the same time, the Society for the Recovery of Drowned Persons was organized. This organizations was founded in Amsterdam in response to the hundreds of citizens who died by drowning in the canals every year. Though not all of the society’s ideas were medically accurate or effective, some of their practices were very similar to how CPR is performed today. These practices would spread to other organizations that provided medical assistance to drowning victims, but it would still be some time before doctors and others studied these techniques in detail.
In the next 150 years, the medical community learned more about the human body and began to study resuscitation. Finally at the end of the nineteenth century two doctors, Dr. Friedrich Maass and Dr. George Crile, independently documented the medical use of chest compressions to resuscitate someone who had drowned. Dr. Maass performed and documented chest compressions, and Dr. Crile had similar success in 1903. From then on, medical organizations adopted chest compressions as a way to revive those who had drowned.
Mouth-to-Mouth CPR
Then in the 1950s, there was another breakthrough in cardiopulmonary resuscitation research. Dr. Peter Safar, Dr. James Elam, and Dr. Archer Gordon were able to prove that mouth-to-mouth resuscitation could provide adequate oxygen to the body and increase the chance of survival of a drowning victim. In 1956, they developed techniques that made mouth-to-mouth CPR more effective, and soon these practices were adopted by the U.S. military and emergency medical services.
In 1960, the American Heart Association started to teach physicians how to perform CPR. In the next decades, the practice became more and more accepted. The first large scale CPR training occurred in Seattle, Washington in 1972. Leonard Cobb led the training program called “Medic 2” which trained more than 100,000 people in the program’s first two years.
CPR in Businesses
Businesses also started providing corporate onsite CPR training, so employees could perform the technique during an emergency, and this became more and more common. Corporate onsite CPR training is now found in many of the world’s largest corporations and businesses. Not only does it help make offices safer, but it’s also a great team-building and leadership opportunity for organizations.
If you are interested in corporate onsite CPR training, there are many ways that you can provide training on a flexible schedule and give participants the chance to get certified in CPR. Our corporate onsite CPR training programs are designed to make CPR approachable and easy to learn, so that your staff will be able to use these techniques to save the lives of coworkers, family members, and anyone else who needs help.
Sources:
]]>CPR training in NJ will prepare you for many types of emergencies, but with any luck you’ll never find yourself in a situation where someone’s life is in danger. However, if that type of situation ever occurs, you’ll be prepared to quickly act, providing CPR and other emergency care to increase the victim’s chance of survival. After suffering sudden cardiac arrest, a person only has about an 8% chance of surviving before they make it to the hospital; however, immediate CPR can double the chance of survival and saves over 90,000 lives every year in the United States.
Though learning CPR is often a thankless task, those who are able to use it to save someone else’s life usually receive the gratitude of the person’s family and community. That gratitude is more than enough of a reward, but in New Jersey the American Heart Association actually gives an award to people who’ve used CPR to make the state a safer place. The New Jersey American Heartsaver Awards were given out on June 3rd and were awarded to 29 residents of New Jersey for their efforts to save people’s lives. Some of these individuals were recognized for individual acts of CPR and others were recognized for other efforts that advance CPR training in NJ.
Applying CPR Training and Other Knowledge to Save Lives
In addition to learning how to perform CPR specifically, CPR training in NJ also teaches individuals how to identify when someone needs emergency medical care and how to use an AED device to help people suffering from sudden cardiac arrest. These training programs provide participants with a lot of knowledge and skills that they can use in a number of different situations such as when someone has a heart attack, suffers an allergic reaction, almost drowns, is shocked with electricity, chokes, or suffocates.
One of the recipients of the award this year was Melanie Mercado, a resident of Union County who works as a registered nurse at RWJ University Hospital in Rahway. When she was going home from work one day, she saw someone lying in the middle of the street and realized they were the victim of a hit-and-run. Using her CPR training, Mercado told someone else to call 911 while she began performing CPR. She continued to provide CPR until the paramedics arrived and the woman would not have survived without her help and immediate action.
Providing CPR Skills and Training to More NJ Residents
Though the American Heart Association honors a lot of people who directly perform CPR to save another’s life, it also uses its awards to bring attention to people and organizations that provide CPR training in NJ and increase the number of trained and prepared citizens who can perform CPR. This year Joseph Przytula also received an award for his efforts to do just that.
After the state government passed legislation to provide CPR training in NJ public schools, Pryztula helped implement the program in Elizabeth Public Schools. As the supervisor of health, safety, and physical education, he makes sure that every student receives CPR and AED training before they graduate—more than 700 students every year. His fantastic efforts to expand CPR training have made his school, community, and state a much safer place for everyone who lives and works here.
For those interested in CPR training in NJ, there are many places across the state where this type of training is available. The more people that learn how to respond in emergencies, the safer everyone will be when emergencies happen. When a person performs immediate CPR and AED, they can triple the chance of the victim surviving the ordeal. If you are looking for CPR training in NJ, contact us today.
Sources:
http://www.nj.com/suburbannews/index.ssf/2015/06/two_union_county_residents_hon.html
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Though CPR, which stands for cardio pulmonary resuscitation, has been around for a long time, many people don’t know exactly how it works, the science behind it, or how effective it is. This is too bad, because if the public better understood how important CPR is, more people would enroll in CPR training in NJ. Fortunately, more and more public schools are providing CPR training in NJ, and this is making all communities in the state safer. The number of corporations offering this training to employees is also increasing around New Jersey.
Though some people are turned off by the idea of having to perform CPR on total strangers, the truth is that most medical emergencies occur at home and at work. In addition to potentially saving the lives of strangers, CPR training in NJ can also help you save the lives of your family, friends, and others you care about. CPR training is most likely to save the life of someone you know and care about, and that’s why so many people are interested in learning how to safely perform it. Additionally, there are hands-only CPR techniques that can be learned that avoid mouth-to-mouth resuscitation for those who are squeamish about that type of technique.
CPR Saves Lives
Research conducted on CPR continues to show that CPR can potentially save a person’s life — about 92,000 lives every year. CPR can be an effective way to restore breathing and normal heart function, and it can increase a person’s chance of survival after
- sudden cardiac arrest
- heart attack
- choking
- suffocating
- almost drowning
- suffering an allergic reaction
- getting shocked with electricity
- overdosing on drugs
This isn’t to say that CPR will always save a person’s life. When a person requires CPR, their body is already under an extreme amount of stress, and the problems that caused their heart to stop may be too serious to repair with CPR. About 92% of people who experience sudden cardiac arrest do not survive before they arrive at the hospital; however, performing CPR immediately can double or triple that person’s chances to survive.
When a person stops breathing, every second counts. That’s why it’s so important that one of the first people who reach the victim can perform CPR without any hesitation. CPR training in NJ doesn’t just teach people how to perform CPR, which is relatively simple; it also provides each participant with the confidence they need to act decisively in an emergency situation.
Who Can Use CPR Training?
Everyone can benefit from learning how to perform CPR. It is not just something for lifeguards and medical professionals. Many businesses offer corporate onsite CPR training to their employees because it’s a great team-building exercise and increases the safety of every employee in the office. Most offices now have AED devices, which use electricity to restart the heart. During CPR training, employees can also learn how to use these devices which can save someone who’s in sudden cardiac arrest.
CPR training in NJ is also popular among private citizens who want to be able to perform CPR for their family members and friends. When there is an emergency, it is very important that someone nearby can perform CPR immediately before the medical professionals arrive.
If you have family members with heart problems, children with congenital defects, or just want to be prepared for an emergency, CPR training is right for you. We provide different types of training and certification to give you the tools you need to save someone’s life. Contact us for more information about our next session of CPR training in NJ.
Sources:
http://lasvegassun.com/news/2015/jul/13/how-perform-adult-cpr/
]]>You’ve probably seen defibrillators used on dozens of medical TV shows and in movies. A doctor or medical professional will yell, “Clear!” and a powerful jolt of electricity brings the person magically back to life. Have you ever actually wondered how the defibrillator works and why a jolt of electricity can restore someone’s heartbeat? Though television can sometimes make it seem as simple as jump – starting a car, a defibrillator is a very advanced piece of technology and training can make operating it much easier.
Fortunately, many corporate onsite CPR training courses provide first aid and AED training in addition to CPR training. Learning more about AED technology can help you better understand when you can use it to save someone’s life, and in combination with corporate onsite CPR training, you’ll have the preparation you need to respond during an emergency.
The Electrical System of the Heart
Though it may sound strange, every person’s heart is controlled by electrical signals within their body. Most organs are controlled by electrical signals that are sent through the nervous system from the brain, but the heart actually has its own source of electrical signals. These electrical signals spread from the top of the heart to the bottom and make the muscles in the heart contract. The rhythm of this contraction, also known as the heartbeat, pumps blood throughout the body at a steady rate.
Without constant pumping of blood, a person’s organs and brain won’t receive the oxygen they need and will start to fail. When a person’s heart stops beating, it is called sudden cardiac arrest, and this is when an AED, or automated external defibrillator, can save a person’s life. With corporate onsite CPR training, you will be able to identify these situations and respond immediately to increase the person’s chance of survival. According to some studies, using an AED and performing CPR can double a person’s chance to survive.
Irregular Heart Rhythms
Why does sudden cardiac arrest occur? Though most people’s hearts have electrical systems that work correctly, some people’s hearts do not receive the right type of electrical signals. This affects the rhythm and rate of their contractions and makes sudden cardiac arrest more likely.
Heart rhythms that are not normal are called arrhythmias. Ventricular fibrillation is a common type of arrhythmia that causes the bottom of the heart to beat irregularly. Ventricular tachycardia is another type of arrhythmia affecting the chambers in the bottom of the heart, and both of these arrhythmias can cause sudden cardiac arrest. Arrhythmias can occur in all types of people, and many are not even aware that something is wrong with their heart. Completing corporate onsite CPR training can prepare you for when these emergencies occur unexpectedly.
Using an AED
When someone is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, an AED might be able to save their life. The electrical signal sent by the device can get the heart beating at the right rhythm again. With its built-in computer, an AED can measure a person’s heartbeat, or lack thereof, and determine if an electric shock is needed. The device’s computer will also be able to determine what type of electric shock is necessary and give instructions so that it’s used correctly.
During this type of emergency, corporate onsite CPR training can ensure that someone knows how to respond and can respond immediately. Every second counts, so it’s important to have people who are trained and prepared. Using an AED correctly can increase a person’s chance of survival to 75%. If you are interested in learning more about AEDs and corporate onsite CPR training, contact us today.
Sources:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/aed
http://heartsine.com/2012/12/how-does-an-automated-external-defibrillator-work/
]]>A mother in eastern Polk County, Iowa, walked into her daughter’s room and couldn’t wake her up. She called 911.
Dispatcher Travis Bell, a 10-year veteran, was near the end of his overnight shift. He took the call and got the home address.
The next 12 minutes, 44 seconds became an intense struggle to save the life of a 16-year-old girl. Her desperate mother, counting aloud, used her hands to function as her daughter’s heart, guided by Bell’s calm, collected and encouraging tones.
Every second counts.
20 seconds after the call starts.
“OK, what’s going on there?” Bell asks.
23 seconds.
“I’ve just been trying to wake up my daughter … ” the mother says. “I’m not able to get a response from her.”
Bell gets the woman’s phone number. At the family’s request, The Des Moines Registeris not identifying the family or the daughter’s medical condition.
41 seconds.
“Is she breathing at all?” Bell asks.
The mother’s voice is calm, but trembles slightly in response: “Not that I can tell.”
48 seconds.
“Can you get her on the floor for me?” Bell asks.
“Come on sweetie,” she says, gently calling her daughter’s name.
1 minute, 4 seconds.
Bell says to his colleagues in fire and medic dispatch: “Incoming, unconscious not breathing.”
1 minute, 14 seconds.
“I have her on the floor,” the mother says.
“Can you tell if she’s breathing?” Bell asks.
The mother pauses for 10 seconds. She says it looks like there is a slight respiration.
Bell identifies this as ineffectual breathing. The girl’s heart isn’t pumping fast enough to distribute oxygen throughout her body. She is dying.
1 minute, 32 seconds.
Bell asks if the mother has an automatic external defibrillator, or AED, a device used to send an electric shock to jolt the heart back into function.
With an AED, chances of surviving a heart attack or other cardiac event grow to about 31%, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study from 2010.
Using solely cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, drops the survival rates. Those odds are about one in 10.
Medics dispatched from Altoona, Iowa, are about nine minutes away. CPR is all the mother, daughter and Bell have until they get there.
1 minute, 50 seconds.
Bell tells her to tilt her daughter’s neck to open the airway.
He then asks the mother to monitor her daughter’s breaths. They are too far apart. He begins to teach her how to do CPR.
2 minutes, 58 seconds.
“Place the heel of your hand on the breast bone right between the nipples,” Bell says. “Put the other hand on top of that. Pump the chest hard and fast — at least twice per second — about 2 inches deep. Let the chest come all the way up between pumps. We’re going to do this 600 times until we can get help there to take over.”
3 minutes, 26 seconds.
“Count out loud, so I can count with you, OK?” Bell instructs.
“One, two, three, four …” the mother says as she presses into her daughter’s chest, pushing blood through the heart and out toward the brain and extremities.
3 minutes, 42 seconds.
“I need you to go a little bit faster than that,” Bell prods.
“OK,” the mom says, “17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 …”
3 minutes, 59 seconds.
The mom says, “She’s starting to come to!”
“You’re doing good,” Bell says. “Just keep going, OK?”
4 minutes, 27 seconds.
The mother’s counting starts to become labored, her voice breathier.
“88, 89, 90, 91, 92 …”
5 minutes, 5 seconds.
“You said this is a house, right?” Bell asks, as the fire dispatcher guides medics to the home.
“Yes,” the mother replies. “151, 152, 153, 155 … and the door’s open … 175, 176, 177 …”
5 minutes, 33 seconds.
Fatigue is clearly setting in, but the mother keeps pressing. She is breathing hard. She skips counts, but she keeps at it.
“Doing good,” Bell says. “Just keep at it, all right?”
Minutes pass, and all that can be heard is a mother’s voice counting as she presses her hands into her daughter’s chest.
The mother gasps as she keeps pressing.
6 minutes, 29 seconds.
“Is there anybody else there with you?” Bell asks, perhaps sensing the fatigue.
“No, it’s just us,” the mother responds. And keeps on with the count.
7 minutes, 27 seconds.
“400, 1, 2, 3, 4 …”
8 minutes, 27 seconds.
“96, 97, 98, 99 … 400 …”
She’s got the count wrong. The mother is getting really tired. Bell just encourages her. “Keep going, OK? We’re getting closer.”
9 minutes, 39 seconds.
The mother finishes another 100 pumps.
“That’s actually 600, OK?” Bell says.
“OK, sorry,” the mother says. “Do you want me to completely stop, then?”
“No, just keep going, all right?” Bell says.
“Do I still count?” she asks.
“Yep, keep counting,” Bell responds.
10 minutes, 41 seconds.
The mother passes 700 compressions.
11 minutes, 15 seconds.
Sirens wail in the background. Help is close.
“They’re starting to come,” Bell says. “I want you to keep going until they’re in the room, though, all right?”
11 minutes 36 seconds.
The mother passes 800 compressions.
12 minutes.
There’s clattering inside the house.
“Hang on, honey,” the mother says to her daughter. She leaves to guide the medics into the room.
12 minutes, 8 seconds.
“Are they in there? Hello?” Bell asks.
12 minutes, 16 seconds.
“They’re here,” the mother says.
“OK,” Bell says. “I’m going to let you go. You did good.”
12 minutes, 44 seconds.
The 911 recording ends.
Soon after, Bell’s shift ended. He took his car for a scheduled oil change. The thought of that girl and her mother stayed with him.
“I was sitting in the waiting room at Stew Hansen’s, and I just about started crying,” said Bell, who studied criminal justice.
Bell applied at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office to be a dispatcher, thinking one day he would become a deputy. He found he liked dispatching.
But days like this one are rough.
“Dispatchers rarely get to find out how a call turns out,” said Lt. Jana Rooker, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office. “It’s a very stressful job. A lot of people forget about them.”
A 2012 Southern Illinois University study looked at instances of post-traumatic stress disorder in emergency dispatchers. The biggest trigger was the unexpected death or injury of a child.
Not knowing what happened to that 16-year-old girl nagged at Bell. He repeatedly texted his co-workers on the day shift. Eventually, one of his friends was able to reach the Altoona medics. The girl had lived.
Bell was relieved. This is hardly the first time he’s had to instruct a caller on CPR. It’s a fairly common call for a dispatcher. But for Bell, this one was special: It was the only time it had worked.
“Most of the time I’ve done this, the patient was already dead,” Bell said later. “Those are bad days.”
Last month, Bell’s supervisor at Polk County asked him to hang around for a few minutes after work. All his boss said was, “It’s positive.”
In the dispatch office, Bell saw a woman and a daughter. He didn’t know who they were, but he had an idea.
It was the girl he helped saved. Mother and daughter hugged Bell.
The mother read a letter to Bell aloud.
“It is hard to put into words the gratitude that we feel concerning you and your actions the morning of Aug. 4, 2014,” the mother wrote. “That morning when I discovered our daughter, her body so still and her voice silenced, I was so afraid she had left us forever.”
She continued: “When you asked me to begin CPR, I began to panic as I did not remember what to do. You very gently led me through the proper steps and listened as I counted to over 800 compressions. You encouraged me and kept me on track. I know that you probably consider that you were just ‘doing your job,’ but to us you were the anchor that held us steady in the process of saving our daughter’s life.”
There were more hugs after that. Bell received a commendation from the sheriff’s office.
This was a good day.
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“I was completely unable to breathe,” she said. “I felt myself losing consciousness. The last thing I remember thinking was how ironic it would be to die from an asthma attack.”
That’s when it all went black and she fell to the floor.
Luckily her spouse, Kris Sanderson, was home at the time. She immediately grabbed the phone and dialed 911. At the Mountlake Terrace SNOCOM 911 dispatch center, the phone rang on trainee Angela Presley’s desk.
“Help, help, help!” came through the speaker. “She’s turning blue, what do I do?”
Although Presley had been on the job only eight weeks at SNOCOM — South Snohomish County’s emergency and public safety communication center — she and her trainer Stephanie Gamm knew just what to do: get the patient breathing and get oxygen to the brain immediately. And that meant talking Kris through administering CPR.
“Put her on her back,” Presley instructed. “Put your hands on her chest, keep your arms straight and press down as hard as you can. Now you’re going give her a series of chest compressions. Count with me: 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4…”
Thanks to Presley’s calm, persistent instruction, Kris had Paula breathing on her own when the emergency medical technicians arrived. They stabilized her, and rushed her to Swedish/Edmonds, where she spent the next two hours in the trauma center. Several days later she was released to resume the life that had almost been taken from her.
Today, just one month after that Aug. 8 phone call, Kris and Paula Sanderson visited the 911 center and met Angela Presley face-to-face for the first time. It was a tearful, emotional meeting.
“How do you thank someone who saved your life,” sobbed Paula.
“Having Angela on the other end of that phone was my lifeline,” said Kris. “It was like she was standing right there next to me and we were doing it together.”
One big thing the couple came away with is the value of CPR training.
“Everyone needs to know this,” said Kris. “When you stop breathing, you’ve got 30-60 seconds before brain cells start to die. There’s no time to sit and ponder. You need to keep a clear head and act immediately.”
Presley echoed this. “Every second counts,” she said. “The most important things are to start immediately, keep calm, focus, and call 911 to give your location.”
According to Presley it’s a common misconception that CPR is mostly administered to victims you don’t know. “Ninety percent of CPR resuscitations are administered in your home for someone you know, not a stranger on the street,” she said.
For the Sandersons, it’s been a life-changing experience.
“It’s really driven home how fragile life is,” said Paula. “Something like this makes you appreciate the things in life that are really important.”
– Story and photos by Larry Vogel
]]>A too fast, or chaotic heart rhythm (ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, respectively) can both lead to cardiac arrest. Off-screen, using an external defibrillator is rarely accompanied by a musical score – and it is often not even in a hospital setting. Initiating immediate treatment before the arrival of EMT professionals can be the difference between life and death. Our classes teach you how and what to do.
The fact is you don’t need Hollywood magic or a medical degree to save a life: you just need a little training and the right equipment, an automatic external defibrillator (AED). These portable, electronic devices not only diagnose someones heart rhythm, they determine if an electric current is needed and they administer it! The machine walks the user through the process step by simple step with electronic voice or visual prompts. Couple that with proper cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and you are now someone who can save a life.
For more information on this topic, and our class schedules, please visit our website or contact us
