On Monday, Jan. 2, viewers of Monday Night Football were reminded how important the work of first responders is, especially when it comes to providing life-saving care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) immediately in order to help save a life.
Damar Hamlin, a player with the Buffalo Bills, collapsed shortly after a play in the first quarter and emergency providers had to apply CPR to the player on the field before transporting him to a hospital.
By Thursday, Jan. 5, the Bills were reporting that Hamlin had showed remarkable improvement, and donations to his fundraiser for supporting Christmas had reached more than $7 million from fans who witnessed that event.
That lifesaving aid Hamlin received, especially CPR, is one of the things anyone can do to help save a life if they know the right steps.
And if you don’t know how to administer CPR or it’s been a while since your last training, the Rotary Club of Linn County and the Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service have a community CPR training course being offered Saturday, Jan. 28, from 9 a.m. to noon at Cornell College’s Thomas Commons. The class is open to 40 participants.
“Minutes count,” said Jake Lindauer, director of the Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service. “If CPR is started before our EMT professionals arrive on the scene, the prognosis for a good outcome goes way up. Bystanders who know CPR are especially important in rural communities like ours.”
Statistics say that if CPR is started by a bystander, the chances of a positive outcome are tripled.
Infant CPR and AED training will also be part of the class.
Register for the CPR class today by visiting rotarylc.org and follow the links to the Mount Vernon CPR training.
Help give members of our community, including your friends and family, a lifesaving chance.