Cpr Training:

One Man's Answer To Emergencies

August 11, 1989|By MARC R. TURPIN Staff Writer

A Suffolk man cutting his grass recently collapsed from an apparent heart attack. Two off-duty nurses happened to be in the area and applied CPR before the rescue squad arrived. Their actions helped save the man's life.

Another apparent heart attack victim slumped over his car's steering wheel. An off-duty nurse happened on the scene and applied CPR before the rescue squad arrived. Again, a man's life was saved.

Both men were fortunate they were stricken near someone able to perform CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The response in those critical first few minutes increased their chances of survival.

But the next time someone's heart stops, there's no guarantee that a bystander knowledgeable of CPR will be there.

Michael Berg, supervisor of the Nansemond-Suffolk Volunteer Rescue Squad, hopes to turn that around.

"It's not uncommon for us to arrive at a scene and see people standing around looking, not sure what to do even if they want to get involved," Berg says.

Berg realizes it's critical that the public get involved in emergency situations because the average time it takes for the rescue squad to arrive at a scene is about 10 minutes.

"After four to six minutes after someone's heart stops, and they stop breathing, irreversible brain damage can occur," he says.

Berg, who's been in rescue services for 18 years, says in some localities, one out of every four citizens knows how to perform CPR.

Berg says the lack of public involvement and lack of aggressive campaigning by the rescue squad and others to teach the public CPR in the Suffolk area may have caused number of those knowing CPR to be lower than one in four.

The lack of public, non-medical involvement can be attributed primarily to three factors, says Berg:

* Apathy. Some choose not to get involved because they rationalize that it's not their problem.

"What will they do when it's their mother, father, sister or brother who needs CPR?" Berg asks. "If it doesn't benefit them personally, it will benefit their loved ones."

* Fear of diseases. "There's been a lot of concern recently about communicable diseases and infectious diseases. The only way to get around that is a good public education," Berg says.

* Fear of a lawsuit. Some are worried that should they get involved and the person getting CPR doesn't survive or suffers brain damage, they'll be sued by family members or friends of the patient.

"Most people are suit-conscious. However, legislation has been made, the Good Samaritan law, that if you're performing to the best of your ability with good faith with the knowledge you have, you cannot be held liable," Berg says. "It's been on the Virginia books for a long time."

Berg says area rescue squads and a recently organized chapter of the American Heart Association in Suffolk are making efforts to teach the public how to perform a basic form of CPR and prevent heart disease.

The Nansemond-Suffolk Volunteer Rescue Squad held a four-hour class at the station recently and hopes to hold more if enough requests from the public are made. Other area rescue squads also offer CPR training.

The course places a lot of emphasis on maintaining a good diet and handling stress to prevent heart disease.

The class also teaches what causes sudden death, how to remove an obstruction from someone's airway, how to check for a pulse, how to perform an external chest compression and other techniques.

Berg says the emergency services in Suffolk are installing a 911 telephone system that should be operating by Sept. 11. Berg will teach 911 dispatchers CPR so that they instruct callers to assist with the rescue.

He recalls a recent case in Richmond where a 10- or 11-year-old boy called 911 to say his grandmother had passed out. The dispatcher instructed CPR to the boy and he was able to help save her life.

Anyone interested in a CPR course may call Berg at 539-6870.

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