Who Needs CPR?
By Emmanuel Trenche
Strativo Group, Inc.

As professional health and safety instructors, there’s no doubt bystander CPR (formally known as cardiopulmonary resuscitation) provides a tremendous opportunity to save the lives of many at risk.

Lead author Dr. Benjamin S. Abella, clinical research director at the Center for Resuscitation Science at the University of Pennsylvania told Business Week that in the U.S. alone, less than 40 percent of cardiac arrest victims receive bystander CPR. Abella continued to mention that prompt CPR improves survival two to threefold.

This could result in life or death for many. So, who needs CPR? Anyone suffering from sudden cardiac arrest—when the heart and breathing stop--, and those present at the time of cardiac arrest. The more people certified to perform CPR and use an AED, the more lives can be saved at the time of cardiac arrest. According to Business Week, an estimated 166,200 people die from sudden cardiac arrest outside of hospital settings each year in the United States.

OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) explains that if the workplace has a potential for severe life threatening hazard (suffocation, electrocution, etc.), an employee must have medical care within three to four minutes. Where no such hazard exists, such as an office location, the standard is 15 minutes. Where a municipal emergency service is not available within the specified timeframe (in locations with severe hazards, the municipal EMS will likely not guarantee a three to four minute response time), employers must provide employees training in CPR and first aid.

To help businesses respond effectively to life threatening scenarios such as sudden cardiac arrest, it’s important to identify some of the reasons why people refrain from performing CPR. Recent studies conducted at the university show some of the barriers include fear of contagious diseases from mouth-to-mouth breathing, fear of being sued, and fear of performing CPR incorrectly.

Rescue-101 realizes this barriers lower confidence levels, and contribute to irresponsibility. As a result, Rescue-101 encourages everyone to acquire annual certification in CPR skills training because people perform procedures at their best when feeling comfortably prepared. This mindset is what triggers individuals to think proactively in even the worst case scenarios.

To learn more about Rescue-101 and the various courses available, please contact a health and safety instructor or click here.