EMT student assists on life-saving emergency call

[from the Franklin News-Post] Monday, October 24, 2011 By MORRIS STEPHENSON - Staff Writer A Franklin County High School Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) student recently had a life-changing experience when she played a role in saving the life of a heart-attack victim. Brittany Cook, 16, was at… Read More

Canadian Doctors Speak Up

Emergency-room doctors say bystanders are morally obligated to perform chest compressions on cardiac arrest victims - whether or not they have been properly trained in cardio-pulmonary resuscitation - and CPR must be considered a “life skill” for all Canadians. Representatives of the Canadian… Read More

Close call on school field carries lesson

October 11, 2011 | 3:00 p.m. Lessons can be learned from tragic events. In Baltimore County, we are fortunate that recently lessons have emerged, but a tragedy was averted. Fast action and the fortunate presence of expertise combined on Sept. 27 to save the life of a teenager who went into cardiac… Read More

It's either sloppy reporting or really tragic.

A math teacher at East Central High School died Monday morning after collapsing before classes started, officials said. Melinda Villegas, 23, a full-time math teacher for all grades at the high school, was with colleagues, who “immediately started assisting her and went to get our school nurse's… Read More

About half...

...of the people interviewed in 2007 know or were able to guess the difference between a sudden cardiac arrest and a heart attack. When the score is that close to 50/50, usually folks are guessing. It's important because immediate 911 and CPR. plus prompt defibrillation are essential to cardiac… Read More

Shock, sorrow after teen cheerleader's death in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — When students returned for school Monday morning at Washington Prep, they were to be greeted by crisis counselors and missing one of their beloved classmates, a cheerleader who died after collapsing during a football game. Angela Gettis, a 16-year-old sophomore at the school, was… Read More

SCA Hits Perry Hall High JV Field Hockey Team

Trauma Strikes the Field Hockey Teams Wednesday, September 28, 2011 By Ethan Muller From Perry Hall High's online newspaper In life, situations can go from happy and exciting to gloomy and traumatic in a matter of seconds. Last night, September 27, 2011 the JV and Varsity Field Hockey teams… Read More

Nurse finds herself in right place, right time

By Mary Landers (SavannahNow.com) Julie Anderson Paul knew something was desperately wrong from the tone of the other mother’s voice. The 34-year-old nurse had just settled back into her beach chair after a walk on Tybee’s north end when she heard the unmistakable sound of panic. “Help my son. Oh… Read More

Why are the survival numbers different?

I've had several people ask me why they keep seeing different numbers for survival percentages. Here's the heart of the problem: It all depends upon what you mean by survival. In days gone by - and for very good reasons in the modern age - 'survival' meant the "return of spontaneous circulation" (… Read More

Be Annoying: It Could Save A Life

The CDC's publication of five years of CARES data underscores the importance of time. On a sample of 31,583 cardiac arrest victims, a Bystander applied the AED only 3.7% of the time, and the 911 Responder applied the AED the other 96.7% of the time. Twenty-three percent of the people to whom a… Read More