Thursday, November 16, 2006

A public service announcement . . .

I became a certified American Red Cross instructor about 3 years ago. Due to my job and the fact that I train all new employees as they come into our facility, we decided hat it would be more cost efective to have a trainer on site. It was a a lengthy process of classes and tests and was quite pricey, but I'm so glad that I did it. I have had to take CPR and First Aid for the past 16 years due to my profession, however I feel as though I really know the material for the first time.

I always have staff tell me that they don't know if they will know what to do in an emergency situation, I always encourage them that the skills will come back and you will remember them. Each age group used to be was diferent counts, different depths of compressions, different speeds etc. This past year the Red Cross and the American Heart Association revamped the CPR skills and make it far simpler. All the skills are generalized and pretty much the same for each age group, adult, infant and children. It is wonderful! It has given people the confidence to give CPR and it is still as effective as before. I am always very cautious to tell my students that you are not trying to resart the heart, the goal of CPR is to simply circulate the blood through the body until advanced medical care arrives.

Learn CPR. Your family is worth the time and effort.

1 comment:

Patty said...

When I was doing home care physical therapy, I had a client pass out on me while resting (not going) on the toilet after walking. Over the next ten seconds or so I called out for someone to call 911, debated the best way to get him out of the bathroom and into the hall as the bathroom was not big enough to lay him on the floor, and plead feverently with God that while I knew CPR I did not want to have to do it. The guy came to at about the ten second mark, though it seemed a lot longer at the time, and took a deep breath. I am not sure if it was me or the angels that were singing the hallelujah chorus when the paramedics arrived.

Now days most of the people I take care of have DNR orders. I still have to call 911 if they are not on Hospice, but do not do CPR. I still have to keep my cards up to date. Congrates on your certification.