Taking A Saturday Off To Learn CPR

By Tanjua Damon

Forty people decided to forego the beautiful Saturday weather last weekend to attend the second annual CPR Saturday at both Edmond Town Hall and Sandy Hook Fire Department.

Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps sponsored the event to certify people in CPR. The Edmond Town Hall site served 18 people and the Sandy Hook Fire Department served 22 people wanting to learn the lifesaving skill of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Sharon Mignano took the class at Edmond Town Hall to fulfill a childcare course requirement.

“I had taken a class years ago,” she said. “It has changed a lot. They are very thorough here.”

Harold Evans, assistant chief at Newtown Ambulance, felt it was a good turnout for the class and hoped that maybe some people might consider becoming part of the volunteer ambulance crew since the population in Newtown is increasing as well as ambulance calls.

“We hope to try to obtain volunteers to help during the day,” Mr Evans said. “It’s a problem for all small towns throughout Connecticut.”

Last year the Newtown Ambulance answered 1,506 calls, Mr Evans said. The expected number of calls for this year is around 1,700.

Kris Peterson of the Region Five Emergency Medical Services Planning Committee said that CPR Saturday would probably happen in mid-November next year in hopes of getting a larger crowd, since the month of October is a busy month for many people.

“The reason why EMS has taken this project is because there are not ambulances at every corner,” Ms Peterson said. “Early intervention is critical. When it comes to taking action when someone is choking or not breathing or their heart stops, until EMS arrives, citizen involvement and intervention stops the clock and gives survival ability in critically life threatening situations.”

The instructors at the Sandy Hook site were Mary Hugo, Joe Farrell, and Tom Hanlon. The instructors at Edmond Town Hall were Harold Evans, Gregg Reinhart, Kris Peterson, and Jeff Marquis.

For more information about the next CPR Saturday call 800/CPR-6121.