Meridian Health Helps Locals Save Lives

A patient flat lines. The long beep of the EKG echoes throughout the halls. The hospital staff enters immediately, and they shock the stopped heart back into normal rhythm. Wrong.

Although popular medical shows glorify this scenario, what they are depicting is not what happens in real life. After a patient’s heart stops, CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) is the next step.

“The hard, cold reality is that your patient is not alive when you’re doing CPR,” Nicholas Mazzone, CPR instructor for Meridian Health, said during his presentation on Monday.

About 20 locals gathered at Red Bank Public Library on Monday night for a free “Family and Friends CPR Training” session sponsored by Meridian Health. The event was lead by Brian McGrath and Nicholas Mazzone, both of whom are certified CPR instructors. And, although the class did not provide an official certification, McGrath claims, “what people learn in this class is more than adequate to help in emergency situations.”

The locals in attendance ranged from pregnant mothers, to babysitters, to people who just wanted to be prepared. After all, the American Heart Association claims that CPR can double a victim’s chance of survival.

The seminar, complete with CPR dummies and medical equipment, taught attendees what to do if they are presented with an unresponsive patient. CPR promotes oxygen circulation after a victim has stopped breathing on his own, so, in order to keep that person alive, you must “do what they cannot.”

“Real people, not the police or EMT’s, are the first ones on the scene. With CPR training, they can buy us some time,” McGrath said in an interview.

The program, which combined an instructional video with hands on experience, taught the audience the basics of CPR. While McGrath and Mazzone stressed the importance of the “two breaths, 30 compressions” rule, they also cited other CPR musts, such as the ABC’s. These “ABC’s” refer to airway, breath, and circulation, and remain one of the most important concepts of CPR.

In addition to emphasizing the technicalities of the procedure, the instructors urged attendees to complete three steps before beginning CPR. The first is to check to see if the scene is safe, the second is to find out if the patient is responsive, and the third, and possibly most important, is to tell someone to call for help.

“Chances of survival are way better when you have help on the way,” Mazzone stated.

And, even though being prepared can help save someone’s life, the instructors insisted that not every situation is ideal.

“We cannot prepare you for every eventuality. You just do the best you can with the training you have,” Mazzone said during the presentation.

In an interview before the event, both McGrath and Mazzone asserted that, in many cases, their teaching has in fact helped save lives.

The American Heart Association declares that effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double or even triple a patient’s chance of survival – saving millions over the years.

Meridian Health is due to sponsor four more “Family and Friends CPR Training” events at the Red Bank Public Library this year (May 9, July 11, September 12, and November 14). They also hold similar classes throughout the year at local hospitals.  For more information on the programs, visit www.americanheart.org.