Steve Stegeman, who spent 40 years as a paramedic, is now on the Heart Safe Community board to promote citizen Compression only Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CoCPR) training. He started out by dispelling some myths about citizen assistance.
Only licensed medical professionals are required to offer assistance to individuals needing aid.
If you as a citizen are acting in good faith to assist someone in an emergency, you are not liable for any type of legal action against you.
All 911 operators are trained to walk you through administering CPR and other medical procedures. If you call, you will have assistance.
The average response time for emergency personnel in the Holland area is 4-6 minutes. A person choking will die within 2 minutes without aid. A severe case of arterial bleeding will die before 6 minutes. And sudden cardiac arrest requires CPR within 2 minutes.
After Steve retired he became a medical examiner investigator. This involved talking to people present when deaths occurred. In almost all deaths there was nothing done to render first aid. If nothing is done for sudden cardiac arrests, the EMTs arriving in the 4-6 minute time will have no chance of saving the person.
Heart attacks are characterized by sweating, radiating pain, and breathing difficulty. If these symptoms occur, you need to call 911 and put the person into a position where they are most comfortable.
There are about 1,000 sudden cardiac arrests a day in the US. This can happen among young people. Cardiac arrest can happen because of electrical disturbances that cause your heart to stop or not pump blood. It can also happen because of a blow to the chest at the time when the heart is empty of blood. The current preferred method for assistance is CoCPR. Only 5% of the population is currently trained. The Heart Safe Community has set a goal to have 15% of the population trained.
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Steve Stegeman, who spent 40 years as a paramedic, is now on the Heart Safe Community board to promote citizen Compression only Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CoCPR) training. He started out by dispelling some myths about citizen assistance.