You Could Save a Life! Attend this Hands-Only CPR Seminar
You Could Save a Life! Attend this Hands-Only CPR Seminar
You don’t have to be a doctor or nurse to have healing hands – you can help save a life by performing hands-only CPR!
Each year in the United States, more than 350,000 people experience sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital. Ninety percent of them won’t make it to the hospital, while about 70 percent of sudden cardiac arrests happen in the home. According to the American Heart Association, CPR can double or triple a victim’s chance of survival.
Currently, only 46 percent of people who experience sudden cardiac arrest receive any form of CPR before being transferred to a hospital. Kate Laferriere, BSN, RN, CCRN, Cardiac and Stroke Coordinator at Desert Care Network wants to increase this number.
To help educate the public on the importance and use of hands-only CPR, Desert Care Network is hosting a free seminar:
You Could Save a Life!
Hands-Only CPR Workshop
10 – 11 a.m.
Wednesday, May 8
Joslyn Center Palm Desert
The first half hour of the presentation will be instruction and the last half hour will give attendees the opportunity to practice hands-only CPR on dummies.
“When people don’t receive CPR, for every minute that goes by, the chance of survival drops 7 to 10 percent,” said Laferriere. “Even just waiting for the ambulance decreases chance of survival if people don’t perform CPR.”
What do I do if somebody needs CPR?
The first step is to call 911 and stay on the line as directed by the emergency operator. Then, if the person is unresponsive, proceed with performing hands-only CPR. If you are with someone who is conscious and complaining of chest pain, pressure, pain radiating to the arm or other sudden onset symptoms that don’t resolve within a short time, call 911 and comfort them while waiting for the ambulance.
For those in need of CPR, the steps have been simplified to perform it – the American Heart Association has even come up with a list songs that time perfectly with CPR. For example, the Bee Gees song “Stayin’ Alive” is perfect to perform CPR to. Other popular songs with 100 to 120 beats per minute that will work include “Hips Don’t Lie,” “Crazy in Love” and “Walk the Line.” Hands-only CPR has been shown to be as effective as conventional CPR for cardiac arrest at home, work or in public.
Why perform Hands-Only CPR and not traditional CPR?
“What we discovered was when people tried to do traditional CPR with mouth-to-mouth breaths, they were delaying getting back on the chest. Pumping the heart is more important than mouth-to-mouth,” Laferriere said.
“Your blood has enough oxygen in it for a little while and by manually pumping the heart, that blood will travel throughout the body. The heart is being fed as well as the brain. Those are the two main organs you need to feed. The others we can take care of later, but the heart and brain need blood and oxygen immediately.”
Some people may be apprehensive about performing CPR or afraid that they’ll make them worse. Laferriere wants to put peoples’ minds at ease. “You can’t harm the patient,” she said. “With our elderly population, yes, you could crack a rib, but a cracked rib is better than not being alive.”
You do not have to be certified to perform hands-only CPR. Attending the upcoming seminar on May 8 will not result in an American Heart Association course completion card, but it will give attendees the opportunity to practice hands-only CPR and give them more confidence and familiarity with this procedure, should they ever need to perform it.
To attend this life-saving seminar, call (833) 737-6542 or RSVP online at the link below. Attending this seminar could result in another life saved by CPR!
You’re Invited
You could Save a Life!
Learn Hands-Only CPR Today
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Speaker: Kate Laferriere, BSN, RN, CCRN
Joslyn Center
73750 Catalina Way
Palm Desert, CA 92260
RSVP: (833) 737-6542
