Locals take CPR course to refresh skills
The process of performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, has not changed much in decades, according to Sarah Tusing, American Heart Association instructor at Butler Health System.
Cathy Ratay was certified in CPR years ago when she was a school teacher, but signed up for a class Wednesday at Butler Memorial Hospital to make sure she still could do it in an emergency.
"It has been years since I have been certified, but I still remembered some of it,“ said Ratay, a resident of Renfrew. ”My concern is just knowing what to do in case of an emergency.“
Tusing leads the CPR classes at Butler Memorial Hospital once a month. They are mainly meant for people who want to learn the life saving technique but don’t need to be certified. Tusing said the class is aimed at new and expecting mothers and members of their family.
“We are focused on parents or babysitters,” Tusing said. “It has been promoted in our childbirth class.”
The class started each module with a video explaining different situations in which a person might need CPR and what to do for each one. People in the class then repeated the steps, from checking a victim to calling for help, before getting down with a mannequin to perform chest compressions.
By the end of the 90-minute class, the top of Ratay’s left hand where she put her right hand on top to perform chest compressions was bruised from the exertion. But according to Tusing, performing CPR the correct way should be tiring.
It takes a lot of effort to pump enough oxygen from the heart to the rest of the body, and Tusing assured the class members that their efforts wouldn’t hurt the mannequins, and wouldn’t hurt real-life adults, either.
The class also taught attendees how to use automated external defibrillators (AEDs), the process of dislodging an obstruction stuck in a person’s airway and how to perform CPR on children and infants, which is similar but involves some different hand placement and air pressure.
“Mouth-to-mouth on an adult is like blowing up a balloon, on an infant it’s like blowing a bubble in your gum,” Tusing said. “Typically, with adults it’s a cardiac problem, and for children it’s a breathing problem.”
Peter Moorey, of Harmony, took the class because he wants to be able to help in an emergency situation.
“It’s just something I think everyone should do,” Moorey said. “When I saw it online, I signed up right away.”
At the end of the class, Moorey and Ratay said they learned a lot and enjoyed the experience. Moorey said he wants to go on to get the official CPR certification, and Ratay added the hospital’s class was shorter than the typical certification class.
Moorey said he is glad to have CPR knowledge, although he hopes he doesn’t have to use it.
“To make sure someone is able to tell someone else they love them again, an hour-and-a-half of my time is nothing to be able to do that,” Moorey said.
The next CPR class at Butler Memorial Hospital is March 23. More information and registration for the class is available at butlerhealthsystem.org.
