Photo courtesy of the Union County School District On Monday, Aug. 21, many of the teachers, administrators and staff of the Union County School District underwent training in life-saving techniques and earned their Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)certification. Pictured here is Quentin Moore, Union County High School math teacher and coach, practicing chest compressions.
Photo courtesy of the Union County School District On Monday, Aug. 21, many of the teachers, administrators and staff of the Union County School District underwent training in life-saving techniques and earned their Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) certification. in this picture, CPR Instructor Mike McGee checks Kacey Thomas’ CPR skills as other district employees observe. UNION COUNTY — Most of the time the staff at a school is concerned with educating students, but sometime when there’s an emergency at their school educators are called upon to be first responders as well.
In a statement released in August, the Union County School District announced that on Monday, Aug. 21, many of the district’s “teachers, administrators and staff learning life-saving techniques and earned their CPR certification.”
CPR
CPR stands for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and is described on the Mayo Clinic website (www.mayoclinic.org) as “a lifesaving technique useful in many emergencies, including heart attack or near drowning, in which someone’s breathing or heartbeat has stopped.”
The website states that “CPR can keep oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and other vital organs until more definitive medical treatment can restore a normal heart rhythm.” It states that “when the heart stops, the lack of oxygenated blood can cause brain damage in only a few minutes. A person may die within eight to 10 minutes.”
The website states that “The American Heart Association recommends that everyone — untrained bystanders and medical personnel alike — begin CPR with chest compressions. It’s far better to do something than to do nothing at all if you’re fearful that your knowledge or abilities aren’t 100 percent complete. Remember, the difference between your doing something and doing nothing could be someone’s life.”
The website states that “to learn CPR properly, take an accredited first-aid training course, including CPR and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED). If you are untrained and have immediate access to a phone, call 911 before beginning CPR. The dispatcher can instruct you in the proper procedures until help arrives.”
To learn more about CPR visit the Mayo Clinic website (www.mayoclinic.org).
Charles Warner can be reached at 864-762-4090.