2/9/2010 10:11:00 PM
Editorial: Learn CPR - it can be a life-saver
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The Daily Courier
Imagine for a second that the worst happens: You come upon your child, spouse, relative, friend or someone you do not even know, and the person in distress is unresponsive and doesn't appear to be breathing.
It could be, for example, because the person was choking, pulled from the bottom of a pool or had suffered a heart attack.
What do you do?
Call 9-1-1? Let's say paramedics are five or more minutes away from helping - something that is common in a rural area. Every second matters though. Minutes can make the difference between full recovery and brain damage, or even death for the person.
The staffers at Lake Valley Elementary School in Prescott Valley had such a problem this past fall. A co-worker of theirs, Cynthia Boutin, stood up from her desk and, with no warning, her heart stopped beating. A co-worker, Amanda Paffumi, came back to find Boutin laying face down on the floor and, after calling 9-1-1, LeOra Budin and Kris Skorick immediately started cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
"One of the nurses, a teacher, and an officer were doing CPR. We took over from there. If it weren't for their efforts in starting CPR, it would have been a different outcome," said Rob Duplessis, a firefighter with Central Yavapai Fire District.
At the hospital, when Boutin came out of the anesthesia, she said she finally remembered who she was, where she was, and to everyone's amazement, her long-term memory was totally intact.
She got lucky - that people around her knew what to do before medical help could arrive.
Today we offer kudos to the school staff and emergency personnel who saved Boutin's life. This past week the Humboldt Unified School District board and superintendent honored them as well.
We also give a cheer today for the people in the community who have successfully completed CPR training, and urge everyone else to contact the Red Cross to do the same. Its website - at www.arizonaredcross.org - lists classes ranging from CPR and first aid to workplace safety and lifeguard training.
Do it today - someone's life could depend on it.
CLARIFICATION: This editorial, "Learn CPR - it can be a life-saver," listed only the Red Cross for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) classes. The following are more options for places to receive the training:
• Prescott Fire Capt. Jeff Knotek said Prescott Fire Department trains 1,500 to 2,000 people in CPR each year. Call 777-1760 for class information.
• Ken Schoch, EMS Program director for Yavapai College, said the college has a variety of CPR and First Aid courses, and can hold classes at factories, businesses, schools or homeowners association sites if the space and electrical requirements are available. Visit www.yc.edu or call 717-7911.
• LifeLine Ambulance provides CPR courses; call 445-3814 for course information and availability.
• Central Yavapai Fire District at 772-7711 also offers classes in CPR and First Aid.
This is not intended to be a definitive list but, like the purpose of the editorial, we wanted to give our readers the chance to save a life.
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Posted: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Article comment by:
Mike Nelson
Yet the Red Cross is NOT the only CPR & First Aid providers in the community. Central Yavapai Fire Dept (772-7711), Prescott Fire Dept (777-1760), Life Line Ambulance (445-3814) as well as other local small businesses offer these and other 'life-maintaining' courses. One might consider your instructor actually having experience in doing CPR not just some trained instructor who does not understand the local EMS system. Remember that CPR does not save a life, CPR keeps the organs alive until the patient can be seen by a health professional. Remember that most people in cardiac arrest do not survive.
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