Saint Mary Magdalen Catholic School students in grades 3-7 participated in the World CPR Challenge Event sponsored by American Medical Response and particularly Abbott EMS.
The purpose of this challenge is to increase awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and to highlight the critical importance of bystander CPR. The students learned to recognize a typical victim who is unconscious and not breathing normally, when to call 911, and to perform chest compressions until professional help arrives.
Tracey Swabby, a parent at Saint Mary Magdalen and Business Development Manager for AMR/Abbott EMS, and three Abbott paramedics talked to our students and taught them compression-only CPR, which significantly improves survival from sudden cardiac arrest.
She told the students that research has shown rescue breathing is not necessary in the first minutes after sudden cardiac arrest, but that continuous compressions can be lifesaving. Even though the presentation was short, the extreme importance of being prepared with essential lifesaving skills was not lost on the children.
