Check, Call, Care: Clear Creek County residents learn to save lives
Providing life-sustaining medical care and knowing how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until paramedics arrive on-scene can exponentially improve a person’s chance of survival and recovery, according to paramedics and the American Red Cross.Clear Creek County Emergency Medical Services is working toward a goal of training at least 15% of county residents in the latest techniques in providing critical first-aid and CPR to a victim in a medical crisis.The difference between “trained” and “untrained” can mean a lifetime, according to Clear Creek EMS Clinical Captain Clark Church.“The quicker CPR is done effectively, the higher the chances of survival are for that person,” Church said. “The point of CPR is to circulate oxygen through the blood to the brain, which isn’t happening when your heart isn’t beating.”Several local residents took part in a three-hour class at the Clear Creek Metropolitan Recreation Center in Idaho Springs on Feb. 28 with Red Cross instructor Jesse Peros.“We’re in this with the county to get that 15% (training) for the whole county,” Peros said. “While paramedics are phenomenal, education provides them an even better chance, if people know what they’re doing, and then paramedics can take over when they get there.”The class included CPR techniques but went far beyond with information on identifying and addressing a stroke versus a heart attack or how to mitigate blood loss with pressure and tourniquet.According to the Red Cross, symptoms of a “stroke” can be identified F.A.S.T.F = Face Drooping – Does one side of the face droop or is it numb? Ask the person to smile. Is the person’s smile uneven?
A = Arm Weakness – Is one arm weak or numb? Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?
S = Speech Difficulty – Is speech slurred?
T = Time to call 911 – Stroke is an emergency. Symptoms of a heart attack are similar to a stroke with subtle differences between the two medical emergencies and even between men and women, according to the Red Cross.“Men often have the ‘classic’ signs and symptoms of a heart attack, such as chest pain that radiates down the left arm,” according to information provided by the Red Cross.In women, the “classic” signs and symptoms may be milder or accompanied by more general signs and symptoms such as shortness of breath. nausea or vomiting, extreme fatigue and dizziness or light-headedness, according to the Red Cross.A tourniquet is a device that is used to apply pressure to a limb or extremity in order to create ischemia or stop the flow of blood, according to medical journals.The tourniquet can be any material, a belt, clothing or rope, anything to stop the flow of blood in a person, ideally placed and tightened on a joint in the body above where the blood loss is occuring, according to Peros.Providing aid to a victim in an emergency isn’t pretty, Peros told the class.“You’re going to face some gruesome facts,” Peros said. “Properly performing CPR will often break the ribs of a victim, blood loss is often disturbing to a first responder, and personal protection equipment should be used if available.”As a general guide, there are three critical steps a civilian should perform on any scene where there is a suspected medical emergency, according to the Red Cross:Check: Keeping yourself safe will help you take care of others. Then, obtain consent and check the person to determine the nature of their illness or injury.Call: 911 get EMS on the way if the person is unresponsive, not breathing or only gasping, having trouble breathing, experiencing life-threatening bleeding, “911 is a form of action that’s helping the most by letting people know where you’re at and what the issue is,” Peros said.Care: for the person according to their condition and your level of training.Clear Creek County paramedics in conjunction with the CCMRD routinely sponsor first aid and CPR courses for the public to attend, often at little or no cost.Contact [email protected] for information on future events.The post Check, Call, Care: Clear Creek County residents learn to save lives appeared first on Colorado Community Media.
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