The average response time for an ambulance to arrive on scene in an emergency is 10 minutes, with cardiac arrest requiring intervention within the first five minutes to help save someone’s lives.
“Every minute that goes by without intervention or getting air circulating in the body decreases the survivability of a cardiac arrest event,” said Jacob Lindauer, Lisbon Mount Vernon Ambulance service director. “That’s why having community resiliency and community responders trained is so important.”
Lindauer said in Mount Vernon and Lisbon, the police and fire department assist.
During the training, which was offered due to the Linn County Rotary program, Lindauer reiterated the most important steps citizens can make – call 911 and start administering CPR.
Gene Johnson with Linn County Rotary Club said that this was an original fundraising project for the club to secure multiple manikins for the LMVAS, and once they were on hand, to make sure annual trainings take place. Over the past seven years, the trainings have averaged 20 to 30 people.
“We like to say we’re the most CPR literate Rotary club in Iowa for how many people we’re training in hands only CPR,” Johnson said.
If possible, sending someone to locating an AED if they are nearby is beneficial.
Before administering CPR, responders should look to see if they can see chest rising for breathing, listen for signs of breathing and feel for that.
Hands only CPR has gotten away from checking for pulses during the CPR procedures.
“Keeping blood circulating by compressions is more important than locating a pulse in those situations,” Lindauer said.
Compressions should be at a steady beat, and songs like “Baby Shark” or “Staying Alive” have the correct rhythm to keep with pumping the heart.
Good compressions will allow a lung to fill with oxygen as well as exhale.
Lindauer said that currently one percent of individuals in the state of Iowa survive a cardiac event, due to the distance from ambulances to responding.
“Those of you being trained are helping to curb that statistic higher by being ready to act and work to save someone’s lives before we arrive,” Lindauer said.
The training also went into the importance of trying to dislodge items in the esophagus of children before applying life saving measures.
For parents of infants and children, Lindauer said that what they might encounter is their space at home gets turned into a makeshift emergency room as emergency responders race to save their child.
“It’s one of those where we’re going to have the equipment we need from the vehicles themselves, and trying to stabilize an infant or child for transfer and stopping compressions or lifesaving measures leads to more issues of death,” Lindauer said. “It’s better for us to stay on scene then transport to an ambulance until we get a patient breathing again.”
Attendees also had a chance to stay for certification from the American Heart Association as CPR certified, as well as a free stop the bleed class.
RJ Sutton and Ellen Carys, members of the LMVAS, demonstrate proper form for hands-only CPR at the training Saturday, Jan. 27.