Capital employees learn changes in CPR
Capital Electric - March 1, 2011
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Rich Dunn (left) and Justin Morgen adhere sticky tabs to a mannequin's chest. The tabs, attached to an automated external defibrillator (AED), would provide an electric shock to restart or regulate a victim's heart. |
Capital Electric Cooperative employees learned a revised form of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, in a safety training meeting held in January. In past trainings, they were taught the traditional ABCs of CPR: airway, breathing and compressions. But during the recent safety session, they learned about new research which suggests that starting with 30 hard-and-fast chest compressions, and then giving two breaths, is more effective in circulating oxygen in the blood to the heart and brain. This change applies to adults and children, but not newborns.
Paul Fitterer, business manager at Capital, says the co-op holds monthly safety meetings which are contracted through the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives in Mandan. The CPR and AED training is presented annually through a partnership with Medcenter One in Bismarck.
"It's important for all of us to know how to be first-responders," Fitterer says. "An annual review helps us learn and practice the latest and greatest techniques."
For more information on the revised CPR guidelines, visit the American Heart Association's Web site at www.heart.org.