Push Hard! Push Fast!

Push Hard, Push Fast!   For those of you who are CPR trained these should be familiar words!  This week is CPR week, so it is an excellent opportunity to share some CPR reminders and to share a short video on hands only CPR.  All of you know CPR is a life saving skill, one that we practice and test on annually for all of our CPR trained personnel.  In all of our training we focus on compressions and breaths, but as we have discussed if giving breaths is a concern just doing hands only CPR can help to save a life.  A quick reminder of the steps involved in Single Rescuer Adult CPR!

1..  Is the Scene safe!  Have you ensured that there are no hazards that could harm you as the rescuer, after all if you are down, then we now have two victims to deal with.

2.  Check Responsiveness!  Hey can you hear me?  Shake the person, tap them on the shoulder and see if they respond to you!  It is a little awkward to start CPR on someone who is just taking a nap!

3.  Not Responsive, Call 911 and get other resources such as your park AED and Oxygen set-up on their way to your location.

4.  Check for signs of life (Heartsavers), Check for Breathing and a Pulse (Healthcare providers) - signs of life is any movement by the patient, pink coloring, chest rise and fall etc.

5.  No Signs of life!  Start CPR and start with compressions!

6.  Push Hard, Push Fast!  At least 100 compressions a minute! 1 1/2 to 2 inch depth for chest compressions.  Hands in the center of the chest!

7.  15:2 ratio -  15 chest compression  to 2 breaths - 5 cycles

8.  When the AED arrives - Turn it on, place the pads, plug the pads in and follow the prompts on the AED!

9.  You are in this for the long haul - as you continue CPR until you are relieved by someone more highly trained than you, or spontaneous respiration and pulse return ( signs of life - nice and pink and breathing on their own), or you are too exhausted to continue!

The person you do CPR on could be a park patron, it could be a co-worker, or it could be a family member.  Keeping a cool head and remembering your training could very well save a life.

Remember your personal protective equipment - per our Blood Borne Pathogen Guidelines if you are trained in CPR - you should have a mask and gloves on your person while on duty.

Having trouble getting breaths in - re-position the head and try again and if all else fails - hands only CPR - just do compressions!  Blood retains a level of oxygen for awhile, so just circulating that blood through the body via compressions can get some oxygen to the brain and other vital organs.  You are buying time, until that AED arrives and the next level of EMS arrives!


Stayin Alive!

Last week your EMS Instructors all got some really cool posters, cards etc. that they can print and share with everyone - spread the word!  Most people resist doing CPR because they are afraid of doing mouth to mouth resuscitation or mouth to mask resuscitation - you can do hands only CPR and have a huge impact!  Visit the hands only CPR site!

For those who made it all the way through this blog a little peek into the future - probably the distant future for us, but how cool is this!

Be Safe! Be Confident!  Push hard! Push Fast!  You have the ability to save a life!