When Compassion Meets Compression

As a new Red Cross employee, getting trained in the basics of CPR, AEDs and first aid were at the top of my list. I headed to Fort Belvoir this month to the on-site Red Cross chapter. (P.S., if you don’t know about the work the Red Cross does with the military, check it out!) My training was in a standalone house built during World War II, now converted to a Red Cross training center and chapter building. I was joined by many teachers, who were now required to take this training for their Virginia teaching license. There were also some aspiring babysitters and in-home daycare providers, medical assistants and Boy Scout leaders. To say training is hands-on is an understatement. I was lying on the floor, rolling people over, and getting a lot closer to a manikin than I ever thought I would. But I took away extraordinarily valuable information. Here are the top things I didn’t know before I went (other than, you know, how to correctly do everything in general): Don’t pull an embedded object out of someone. Maybe it’s the “splinter effect” or the “bee sting effect,” but I’ve always thought if something is stuck in my body that’s not suppose to be there, I need to get it out! Not the case – the item can act like a plug to stop additional bleeding. Only trained professionals (ie people at the emergency room) should remove the object. Back Blows. What? You’re not supposed to help someone choking only with a bear hug from behind and shove your fists in th...
Source: Red Cross Chat - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Preparedness Uncategorized cpr CPR & First Aid Class training Source Type: news