ACM Minutes, Wednesday, June 12, 2024, 7:00 pm

Topics: CPR 'training' (unofficial)

Present: Emily, Scott, _,Kris (guest), Lila, Vicky, Joe, Lynda, Laura

CPR 'Training'

Emily is trained in CPR but isn't a trainer.trainer, so this isn't officially a training.

If

someone

Firstis fivedown toon tenthe seconds:ground or slumped in a chair, check them.  Talk to them, "Are you okay, [name]?"  Call them "Annie" if you don't know their name. See if they are rousable, check their pulse. The carotid is the easiest to find. Check for respiration.  All this in the first five to ten seconds.

If they are nonresponsive and don't have a pulse, call 911 and put them on speaker.  You will start chest compressions.

If other people are available: 

Utah has a Good Samaritan law.  You won't get in trouble if you are trying to save the person.  Do Not Resuscitate orders are applicable to medical professionals.

In the community, blow a whistle, or if you are near the common house, ring the bell loudly.  The bell is a community-wide call for a meeting, a meal, or an emergency.

If a second person is available, send them to get the AED (and ring the bell).  If nobody is available to send for the AED, keep doing chest compressions, because setting up the AED will use critical time the person doesn't have.

Utah has a Good Samaritan law.  You won't get in trouble if you are trying to save the person.  Do Not Resuscitate orders are applicable to medical professionals.

If the person is sitting, get behind them and slide your arms under their arm pits.  Ease them to the floor

Lay the person on a hard surface. Don't worry about a pillow for their head if one isn't immediately available. If it is winter, remove any heavy sweaters or coats the person is wearing. 

Find the sternum, between the nipples. 

Kneel beside them. Link hands. Press down about 2" then lift to allow recoil. Up, all the  If you are doing it correctly, you will bruise and may crack their ribs. Do thirty compressions then check whether they are breathing. If they aren't, give them two breaths. If you aren't comfortable doing breaths, the chest compressions are more important anyway. Do 100 compressions per minute, which is the speed of The BeeGees song "Staying Alive."  If someone else is available, trade off every 2 minutes because it quickly becomes exhausting. Keep doing it until the person is breathing or the EMTs arrive, which can be ten or fifteen minutes.

To do breaths, go to the person's head.  Tilt the head back. Take a deep breath, breathe into their mouth.  Take a deep breath, breathe into their mouth.  Resume compressions.

Check whether the person is wearing an emergency bracelet. 

On a baby, use your fingers or thumbs and don't press as hard, because you can blow out a lung.  The AED can tell if you are using a pediatric pad and will reduce the shock. Usually your arm is strong enough to hold them and you don't need to put them on the ground. If you put them on the ground, put padding under them.  The speed is slightly faster, but "Staying Alive" still works.

If a person already has a pacer or defibrillator, you can still use an AED.  If their heart isn't beating, the pacer isn't working.  An AED can figure out whether it can shock the person.  Not all heart problems are shockable.

You don't need to call EMT for a seizure as long as the person is breathing.