More young central New Yorkers are learning how to perform CPR, as the American Heart Association continues a drive to increase survival rates from cardiac arrests.
At a CPR class at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, the song “Stayin’ Alive” by The Bee Gees plays. Then, using that beat, remember the mantra, hard and fast in the center of the chest of a CPR dummy.
That training can help someone stay alive, doubling or tripling the chance of survival.
"It helps with the perfusion and getting that oxygen and that circulation to the heart, which ultimately helps the brain survival,” said Stacey Demmers, a chest pain coordinator at St. Joseph's.
The hospital is joining forces with the American Heart Association in getting specialized CPR training kits to three organizations that involve youth, including the Brexialee Torres Ortiz Boys and Girls Club. Unit Director Malaysia Parks said they’ll start using them in their summer programs.
“Once our summer programming starts, we have sessions where we teach, like I said, different life skills,” said Parks. “So this would definitely be a program that we will teach within the summertime."
Anyone over the age of nine can be schooled in Hands-Only CPR. And while it can be used for family members or in public, CPR can also be a lifesaver on a youth athletic field.
"They might have some sort of a cardiomyopathy or there's children that are born with arrhythmia, disturbances, playing soccer, they're at high school, they're at an elementary school, they're in their JV, something could happen,” said Demmers. “So the fact that their team members could run in and be able to help give those compressions."
American Heart Association Spokeswoman Kristy Smorol said distribution of these kits, which include a blow-up dummy, and instructions for doing CPR and using an AED (Automated External Defibrillator) will continue in order for the Red Cross to reach its ultimate goal.
“We want to double cardiac arrest survival rates by the year 2030,” said Smorol. “And to do that, we really need to move the needle on how comfortable people are performing CPR so that more bystanders will become lifesavers."
The Magnarelli Community Center and the Onondaga Nation Arena also received a CPR training kit. Each kit can teach CPR to up to 300 people.
