Post by title1parent on Jun 23, 2010 4:58:06 GMT -5
www.suburbanchicagonews.com/napervillesun/news/2420708,6_1_NA23_CPR_S1-100623.article
Classes give residents a chance to be lifesavers
The beat goes on
June 23, 2010
By KATHY MILLEN kmillen@stmedianetwork.com
In the 11 years he's been a paramedic, Bill Kostelny has helped resuscitate 10 people who ultimately survived.
The most memorable came when his unit arrived at a gym and he saw staff members administering CPR and the AED to his neighbor.
"We took over and intubated him and started drug therapy," Kostelny said. "He walked out of the hospital four days after he was dead on the basketball court."
On a recent Thursday night, Kostelny repeated that story to the 14 area residents that he and fellow Naperville firefighter/paramedic Carl Schultz had in their CPR/AED class.
Performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and using an automated external defibrillator is second nature to Kostelny and Schultz. They know the stakes are high. According to the American Heart Association, without immediate intervention, fewer than a third of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR and about 92 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital.
But when CPR is done immediately, survival rates can double, and even triple. So it often comes down to someone practicing giving breaths and compressions to a plastic head and torso.
"You try to get it out to the populace in the easiest way they can so that survivability rates for cardiac-related problems go up," Schultz said. "That's what the main thrust of all this is. ... It's better to have some little knowledge out there than no knowledge."
CPR/AED classes are being offered by the city of Naperville for both health care providers and the general public. The classes, which also include instruction in the Heimlich maneuver, are scheduled periodically through the end of the year. All instructors are Naperville firefighter/paramedics certified by the American Heart Association.
The course includes a video presentation and time for students to practice on adult and infant dummies. The method of instruction most commonly taught by the AHA in recent years calls for cycles of two breaths and 30 compressions.
Kostelny and Schultz observed the students' technique and told them what to expect when working on an actual person.
"It's pretty noisy," Kostelny told the group. "A lot of cartilage in the rib cage pops when you're doing compressions the right way. A lot of people kind of freak out and think they're breaking ribs. A lot of people want to stop because they think they're hurting someone. But why are you doing CPR? Because someone's not breathing and there's no pulse. So that means they're dead. You're not going to hurt them any more than they are right now. You're just trying to help them."
Taking action
Laura Hall of Aurora doesn't want to stand idly by if someone experiences cardiac arrest in the fitness classes she teaches at the Fox Valley Park District. Having taken a CPR class five years ago, she brushed up her skills at the recent program.
"You think you know it but, God forbid, in an event you want to make sure you can be proactive and do something to help someone," she said. "It's great to use, but you hope you never have to use it, especially with children. I want to be able to save someone's life if I have to."
University of Iowa college student Adam Ford took the class as a requirement for his job working as a camp counselor. He took a course last year as well and hopes he is sufficiently prepared to help someone in distress.
"I can't say for sure because I haven't had a run-in with this situation," he said, "but taking the class is definitely helpful."
Debbie Bellinder of Naperville, who took a CPR class five years ago, said she wanted to update her skills. Her husband, Ed, was there because his job puts him near transformers and high electrical voltage. He has taken an annual refresher course for the last 20 years. While he has never had to use CPR, he has successfully administered the Heimlich maneuver.
"The only way this works is if it's instinctive," he said. "If you have to respond, you can't think about what you're taught. You just have to know what to do."
Breathing options
Some people are put off by the thought of breathing into a victim's mouth. Often the compressions will cause the victim to vomit. Schultz said there is very little chance of getting a disease doing CPR, but mouth and nose-covering masks and barrier devices are available for purchase to make the procedure more sanitary.
However, Schultz said, these devices add another step to the CPR process. The mask must be fitted properly to form a seal so the rescue breath goes into the victim's lungs.
First responders who balk at giving the breaths are still encouraged to take some action.
"If you feel unsafe doing the breathing, then don't do it, but do the compressions," Schultz said. "There is a messiness factor. I will not kid anybody about that. That's the way it is."
Schultz said some upcoming changes expected in the way CPR will be taught beginning next year will include a compressions-only method.
At the end of the class, the paramedics passed out certificates to the participants who joined the more than 12 million people trained in CPR annually by The American Heart Association. For Kostelny, the value of the program hits home every time he sees his neighbor in his yard.
"It's amazing when you can help someone," Kostelny said. "But when it's someone you know, it's pretty powerful. The percentages are really low when the heart is not beating and they're not breathing. There is a small percentage that you'll be able to help. But it happens, it really does."
Classes give residents a chance to be lifesavers
The beat goes on
June 23, 2010
By KATHY MILLEN kmillen@stmedianetwork.com
In the 11 years he's been a paramedic, Bill Kostelny has helped resuscitate 10 people who ultimately survived.
The most memorable came when his unit arrived at a gym and he saw staff members administering CPR and the AED to his neighbor.
"We took over and intubated him and started drug therapy," Kostelny said. "He walked out of the hospital four days after he was dead on the basketball court."
On a recent Thursday night, Kostelny repeated that story to the 14 area residents that he and fellow Naperville firefighter/paramedic Carl Schultz had in their CPR/AED class.
Performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and using an automated external defibrillator is second nature to Kostelny and Schultz. They know the stakes are high. According to the American Heart Association, without immediate intervention, fewer than a third of out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR and about 92 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before reaching the hospital.
But when CPR is done immediately, survival rates can double, and even triple. So it often comes down to someone practicing giving breaths and compressions to a plastic head and torso.
"You try to get it out to the populace in the easiest way they can so that survivability rates for cardiac-related problems go up," Schultz said. "That's what the main thrust of all this is. ... It's better to have some little knowledge out there than no knowledge."
CPR/AED classes are being offered by the city of Naperville for both health care providers and the general public. The classes, which also include instruction in the Heimlich maneuver, are scheduled periodically through the end of the year. All instructors are Naperville firefighter/paramedics certified by the American Heart Association.
The course includes a video presentation and time for students to practice on adult and infant dummies. The method of instruction most commonly taught by the AHA in recent years calls for cycles of two breaths and 30 compressions.
Kostelny and Schultz observed the students' technique and told them what to expect when working on an actual person.
"It's pretty noisy," Kostelny told the group. "A lot of cartilage in the rib cage pops when you're doing compressions the right way. A lot of people kind of freak out and think they're breaking ribs. A lot of people want to stop because they think they're hurting someone. But why are you doing CPR? Because someone's not breathing and there's no pulse. So that means they're dead. You're not going to hurt them any more than they are right now. You're just trying to help them."
Taking action
Laura Hall of Aurora doesn't want to stand idly by if someone experiences cardiac arrest in the fitness classes she teaches at the Fox Valley Park District. Having taken a CPR class five years ago, she brushed up her skills at the recent program.
"You think you know it but, God forbid, in an event you want to make sure you can be proactive and do something to help someone," she said. "It's great to use, but you hope you never have to use it, especially with children. I want to be able to save someone's life if I have to."
University of Iowa college student Adam Ford took the class as a requirement for his job working as a camp counselor. He took a course last year as well and hopes he is sufficiently prepared to help someone in distress.
"I can't say for sure because I haven't had a run-in with this situation," he said, "but taking the class is definitely helpful."
Debbie Bellinder of Naperville, who took a CPR class five years ago, said she wanted to update her skills. Her husband, Ed, was there because his job puts him near transformers and high electrical voltage. He has taken an annual refresher course for the last 20 years. While he has never had to use CPR, he has successfully administered the Heimlich maneuver.
"The only way this works is if it's instinctive," he said. "If you have to respond, you can't think about what you're taught. You just have to know what to do."
Breathing options
Some people are put off by the thought of breathing into a victim's mouth. Often the compressions will cause the victim to vomit. Schultz said there is very little chance of getting a disease doing CPR, but mouth and nose-covering masks and barrier devices are available for purchase to make the procedure more sanitary.
However, Schultz said, these devices add another step to the CPR process. The mask must be fitted properly to form a seal so the rescue breath goes into the victim's lungs.
First responders who balk at giving the breaths are still encouraged to take some action.
"If you feel unsafe doing the breathing, then don't do it, but do the compressions," Schultz said. "There is a messiness factor. I will not kid anybody about that. That's the way it is."
Schultz said some upcoming changes expected in the way CPR will be taught beginning next year will include a compressions-only method.
At the end of the class, the paramedics passed out certificates to the participants who joined the more than 12 million people trained in CPR annually by The American Heart Association. For Kostelny, the value of the program hits home every time he sees his neighbor in his yard.
"It's amazing when you can help someone," Kostelny said. "But when it's someone you know, it's pretty powerful. The percentages are really low when the heart is not beating and they're not breathing. There is a small percentage that you'll be able to help. But it happens, it really does."