What we are doing to save lives in our community
Wed, 05/14/2008 - 8:09pm
Columbus (Ohio) City Council Member Patsy Thomas initiated "Project Second Chance," our city's PAD (Public Access Defibrillation) program. We've only been up and running full go for one year, but in that amount of time, we estimate that 3,000 citizens have been trained in CPR; over 1,000 of our city employees have been certified in CPR/AED; and 139 AEDs have been deployed through our outreach efforts. There have been five "saves" since April 2006 in the greater Columbus area--all involving bystander/first responder CPR and utilizing AEDs. Columbus typically has seen a 6% SCA survival rate, but we're working hard to improve that!
Mugsy Reynolds
Hilliard, Ohio
It's programs like this - in which regular "laypeople" are being trained in how to help rather than remain a bystander - that gives me hope in an increased SCA survival rate. Getting to the bottom of why people don't want to help (not knowing what to do, fear of doing something wrong, fear of being sued, etc.) is a big part of becoming a true community - ready to help each other when the need strikes. Good job, Columbus!
The problem of bystander/laypersons fear to render help is huge.
The plethora of professional literature about it is testimony to it.
I wonder what is the opinion of this public and the professionals about means and
methods to facilitate this problem.