Blog authored by David Martinez, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) signal maintainer, New York

One man, reading one article and watching one video on CPR, one time… this sums up what prepared me to help save a life.

I’ve been a signal maintainer with the MTA for 17 years. During my tenure, I’ve never had to come to the aid of coworkers as a result of an accident or emergency. Last October, I was put to the test.

It was a typical day, nothing unusual. My fellow co-workers and I were in the middle of performing routine signal maintenance inside the 145^th Street subway station when a normal day turned into an emergency in seconds. As we were leaving the site and removing warning flags, I suddenly heard a shout to call the control center to turn off power.

Two co-workers, one being Monique Brathwaite, were retrieving flags when a train arrived into the station, prompting them to clear the area. Upon arriving at their location, I discovered that Monique had fallen on to the third rail of the track and was struck by a tremendous surge of electricity. My heart was racing and I was sweating profusely, fearing what was before me.

Monique was face down, her head underneath the third rail, smoke rising from her body.  A sight that left me panic-stricken and pacing in front of her. Scared, and probably in a bit of shock, I didn’t know what to do. Thinking she was probably dead, I inched closer to her, all the while thinking about her small children. And then to my disbelief, I saw the slightest movement! I screamed to my co-workers, “She’s alive!”

After confirming the power was turned off, we moved her to a safe area, and then what happened next is credited to my daily habit during my subway commute to work.  Without fail, I read The Washington Post every day on my Kindle. Last July, I stumbled across an article on Hands-Only CPR, a type of CPR that relies only on chest compressions, as well as an accompanying 90-second video, which was produced by the American Heart Association with support from the Anthem Foundation. The video demonstrated how to perform the skill using the Bee Gees’ song, “Stayin’ Alive” as a rhythmic guide. I read the article and watched the video. One time. My memory went into overdrive as I looked down at Monique’s face and lifeless body.

Fear and panic were no longer consuming my mind, but instead everything that I read and watched on Hands-Only CPR just a few months prior. With the beat and lyrics of “Stayin’ Alive” ringing in my ears, I performed compressions for about a minute, and she opened her mouth and eyes. With encouragement from my coworkers, I continued the compressions for another 15 minutes until emergency help arrived.

I recently read an American Heart Association article that shared eye-opening statistics regarding Hands-Only CPR perceptions in minority communities. Many in these communities are afraid to perform CPR for fear of causing injury or believe it requires special training. These two reasons may support another statistic I learned; 30 to 50 percent of African-Americans and Hispanics do not have CPR performed on them in an emergency.

Luckily, Monique and I aren’t counted in these statistics. I saved her life. What a great feeling! She’s still recovering from her injuries, and has a long road ahead, but will be present for those important milestones her children will one day experience.

I encourage everyone to learn CPR. The Hands-Only CPR video that I watched is a great start. The American Heart Association has a number of training resources available and even has a program called “EmPOWERED to Serve” where you can get involved in minority communities to improve health outcomes.

I was empowered by simply reading one article and watching one video, one time. And I’m honored and proud that the New York Daily News recognized me earlier this month with its “Hometown Hero in Transit Award” for my actions. The true honor… knowing that my actions made the difference in my friend living to see another day.

 

This is an interview with Tammy Turning, a member of EdCor’s Training Center faculty. 

Can you tell me a little bit about the history of EdCor?
EdCor was started as a site in 2004 by my mother, Midge Burrows, and has been a center for almost four years now. We took what we learned from being a site and combined it with our projected goals for Edcor to form a center that can better support our instructors. We are focused on how to keep the instructors a top priority and how we can maintain and further develop that relationship.

Could you talk about your partnership with the American Heart Association?
I work with AHA’s training center to make sure that the instructors are number one: trained with quality education, and number two: that they following the AHA guidelines. My job is to ensure that these things are happening and if not, I offer support to ensure they do in addition to providing relevant and helpful feedback.

The new wave for instructor forums is looking more and more to the community and their needs. For example, every 6-8 weeks, we have an open forum where instructors are invited to attend and discuss what’s on their mind. We are the frontline to help bridge the gap between the instructors and AHA. We make sure that everything that AHA wants to go into the curriculum, does.

Could you please explain the resources EdCor offers that help create an exceptional customer service experience?
A lot of the time, we will have new graduates come through our program who have limited experience in application of the skills they have learned. To assist with this, we allow that they can come back and audit that class within the first few years to be a part of re-learning.

In addition to providing free refreshers, we create resource books for instructors that can be found on our online forum. We are highly communicative—so we say—with AHA regarding the curriculum changes and how we can work together to accomplish our similar goals if something isn’t working.

EdCor also participates in a lot of community awareness within our training for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. I think it’s important that we provide those services within our community so that everyone can be part of learning these lifesaving skills.

Could you tell me more about how you connect with your instructors?

It’s obvious there has been a huge shift in how people obtain information and we believe that adapting to change is extremely important. That’s why we use social media and digital outlets extensively. The thing EdCor really tries to focus on is mentoring and supporting our instructors. I don’t want to forget about that instructor space and I don’t want to lose that connection with who they are. That’s the only way that I feel like I’m effectively doing my job.

What are your goals for the growth of EdCor?
This company was started because my mother felt that quality education needed to meet people where they’re at. Right now we are looking at how to reach and impact the new generation of instructors. I’m all for breathing new life into something, and am determined to show students that the material they are learning and teaching can be exciting. I feel strongly that what AHA is trying to do is directly aligned with our mission—to educate from the heart.

What inspired you to become a CPR, First Aid and AED Instructor?

I started out 36 years ago as a paramedic inside a firefighting unit, teaching my colleagues CPR in order

to keep credentials current. One day, a firefighter asked me to help him teach a class away from the department. It made me realize that I could expand my mission to save lives. I chose to focus on the independent instructors and entrepreneurs – the so-called “little guys.” Now I have more than 644 instructors in 32 states with many national clients. For me, operating a successful business is the impossible come true because of hard work and dedication to the mission.

Who has influenced you in particular?

So many people have a hand in my growth over the years, but there are a few who stand apart:

• AHA Territory Director Susan Montalvo was my first ECC manager, a real leader. She believed in people and challenged me to be the best in the business. Because of her I feel that I am living up to that challenge.
• Mike Murrow in the AHA international training division invited me to go to Mexico and roll out training with him. He taught me advanced courses and he built up my confidence so that I could stand toe-to-toe with physicians and inquisitive students. He knew the subject cold, and he pushed me out of my comfort zone.
• Sam Wilson, my spouse. He just kept blowing the wind beneath me. He believed in me.

What are the top things do you want your students to remember when they leave your class?

1. High quality CPR
2. In an emergency situation, ask yourself–did you try? Did you come outside of yourself, your fears, your stories in your head, and get over there with another person and try to save their life? Sometimes emergency situations don’t go the way we hope for so, regardless of outcome, it is important to always try your hardest.
3. I want them to have a “feel good” experience with emergency response. It is not what you say or do, it’s about how you made someone feel.
4. Everyone who takes my class is upping their game to include saving lives. They are heroes in their own lives.

What are some challenges you regularly face at work?

Compliance is always a factor in this business. People want to teach but they want to take shortcuts, not always following the rules, not buying books or cutting a course short to fit their schedule. I teach integrity and leadership to my instructor network because when you live with integrity, you sleep well and you are proud of what you do. It is important to not only have integrity in this business, but additionally, to do it very well and the way it was intended to be done. My goal in the next year is to double the size of my Training Center, then triple it after that, all the while maintaining a high degree of integrity with the AHA.

What was one of your most defining moments in life?

My dream was always to save lives and I did that by becoming the first female firefighter in the Dallas Fire Department. Whether on duty or off, saving lives is what “juices” me, excites me and keeping the blood flowing through my veins. I now have a book and a screen play that is being optioned about this. I am always thinking about what the next big thing is and how to take it from impossible dream to completed miracle.

If you had a motto, what would that be?

“The first ingredient of a miracle is an impossible situation.” I really believe that if people take a moment and consider the possibilities and use faith inside of an impossible situation, they will begin to see the miracles around them. The AHA does this around the idea of cardiac arrest. I do this around nearly every area my life. Fear is the fire – and faith puts the fire out.

This blog was written by Mary Rasmussen, AHA Vice President, CPR & First Aid, Field Operations. 

Although my current work is rewarding, there are times I miss my old jobs in the AHA affiliates. On any

given day I’d meet survivors and volunteers, and be knee-deep in everything from CPR to stroke to cardiovascular diseases.

It gave me a lasting appreciation for the health care professionals, first responders and volunteers who not only teach people how to save lives but regularly save lives themselves. AHA wouldn’t exist without these amazing people. We may coalesce the science but they’re the ones literally doing the work. Our mission wouldn’t be possible without them.

It sounds so simple, but a whole lot of effort goes into making it happen.

Take Mike Taylor, our 2016 Southern Tier (New York) Volunteer of the Year. His embrace of AHA’s CPR in Schools effort led to the New York State Board of Regents approving the addition of Hands-Only CPR training to the school curriculum. In one New York district, he and his team achieved 100% HOCPR compliance – 100% of students, 100% of teachers, faculty and staff, 100% of bus drivers, and 100% of the Board of Directors have successfully been trained. Amazing!

Then there are volunteers such as Beth Mancini (University of Texas at Arlington), Bryan Fischberg (Rutgers- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School) and Peter Fromm (South Nassau Communities Hospital in New York). They logged countless miles and time away from families and career responsibilities to share their specialized knowledge at multiple ECC Regional Conferences.

Kay Eddleman of the Ochsner Health System Training Center in New Orleans has served many roles, but her most important one may be supervising the Training Center’s course quality, sharing everything from policies to forms to supportive encouragement without hesitation. Further, as project lead on the merged Louisiana and Mississippi ECC Committee, she made sure that all Heart Walks in the region this year were staffed with volunteers conducting HOCPR demonstrations.

Finally there is Captain Jeff Dropkin, New England Regional ECC Committee member and New Hampshire paramedic. As an AHA BLS, ACLS and PALS Instructor, he firmly believes that when the public is aware of and educated about when and how to perform CPR and use an AED, lives are saved. That conviction brought to life is directly responsible for the bystander response that saved a young boy’s life this year.

As we look back on 2016, I want to thank Mike, Beth, Brian, Peter, Kay, Jeff and all AHA volunteers and all Training Centers that serve our mission day after day. Consider their impact and multiplier effect. These are responders encouraging others to do the same with good, high-quality resuscitation.

Really, though, how can you say thank you enough to someone who saves a life? The closest I can get is to follow their lead and make sure I’m current on my CPR training so I’m prepared to act should the need arise.

We are here to save lives. It’s a common and simple goal, but a whole lot of energy goes into making it happen. And for those who make that effort, I am grateful.

In advance of Thanksgiving, the following post was written by Brian Eigel, Ph.D., Senior Vice President of ECC for ECC staff. We invite you to respond in the comments section with your thoughts on what you are thankful for this season.  

On Thursday we celebrate Thanksgiving – a time when we reflect back on our year, consider the good that has happened, and publicly express our gratitude to family and friends. As my work family and friends I want to take a moment to share my thanks with each of you.

This Thanksgiving, as I reflect on the journey we’ve had this year, I think back to what I shared with you all in my early days in this role and what I continue to be grateful for now:

• I’m thankful for your passion, dedication and commitment to our mission that is changing the world and transforming our impact.
• I’m thankful that you’ve inspired me to think the unthinkable and dream the impossible by doing this yourselves, by remaining curious, and by asking “what if”.
• Most importantly, I’m thankful for you. We are amazing people delivering incredible results.

Lastly, I know that we remain as busy as ever, with high expectations to meet and exceed our prior great accomplishments while at the same transforming and inventing how we will create extraordinary impact in the future.  I know that every day you are going above and beyond to support our team in all of the work that we do for the AHA and for that I wanted to say, from the bottom of my heart, how truly thankful I am to be a member of your team.  Your contributions as a teammate, friend and leader are felt each and every day!

I hope that you, your family, friends and loved ones have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Thanks,

Brian

When paramedic and AHA staffer Russell Griffin looks at translating science into survival, he sees strides but know we’re only part way through the journey. Here, he tells it in his own words:

My interest in pre-hospital systems is directly influenced by my background. I started my work in EMS in high school and continue it to this day. Through the years, I’ve seen a lot of variation in quality of care and in the design of pre-hospital systems across the U.S. and the globe. This lack of consistency leads to variations in systems of 500 percent or more. Obviously, this increases – or decreases – your likelihood to live.

AHA and seven other member councils have been involved with ILCOR since 1993, working to “translate science into survival.” We’re using advocacy, outreach, and marketing to put evidence, research and science into practice in the regions of the seven member councils – United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Latin America and Asia.

I see our biggest challenge with translating science into survival as measuring success and knowing where to focus next. This past September for World Heart Day, the World Heart Federation called upon global health organizations to step up their efforts to track the impact of cardiovascular disease and stroke. There are so many countries that don’t capture or report on critical cardiac metrics.

In the United States we do a pretty good job at measuring where we’re improving and where we could use more resources. It’s not a perfect system, as the 2015 Institute of Medicine Report on Cardiac Arrest pointed out, but it’s still on the leading edge compared to others.

I view it as our moral imperative to work with our fellow global health advocates to establish systems to set goals and measure against them so that we can truly determine where there are needs and how we are doing in meeting them. It’s about creating health equity and standardization. As my colleague Michael Hulley said so well in a blog last month, “Where you live should not determine if you live.”

Given my background, I choose to focus on pre-hospital care. There is so much variation in the design and process of EMS systems across the world. In the United States alone there are more than 100 different EMS designs.

It’s incredibly hard to standardize designs and processes given budget, staffing and cultural differences. So the AHA is looking at it from a Systems of Care perspective, seeking practical solutions that can be implemented reasonably to make a significant difference. One example is dispatcher-assisted CPR, also known at telephone CPR (T-CPR).

EMS World recently tweeted, “Your dispatch center really has no excuse not to be doing telephone CPR.” AHA was an early proponent of T-CPR and is now developing program and performance recommendations that set standards for timely and high-quality delivery of T-CPR.

T-CPR also demonstrates the importance of metrics. Research shows that as much as 50 percent of bystander CPR in communities that provide T-CPR instructions to 911 callers is directly attributable to those instructions. That’s why we are leading the T-CPR charge and why a major component of AHA’s recommendations will be a set of metrics against which EMS performance can be assessed.

It’s time to open up this entire spectrum of best practices and share it globally. It may not be easy, but the benefits will be immeasurable.

 

 

 

 

By Michelle Ballasiotes. Michelle is a pediatric stroke survivor. She can be reached through her Facebook group, Youth Advocates for Pediatric Stroke, as well as the the KISS Pediatric Stroke Facebook group.

There seems to be a lot of resources and information for adults who suffer strokes, but what about children? Most people don’t realize that a stroke can also happen to children, teens, babies and even the unborn, leaving lifelong disabilities.

I know this first hand, having suffered a stroke before I was born. As a result, I am missing a portion of the left side of my brain that leaves me with hydrocephalus, right hemiplegia, and short term memory deficits. I’m considered a “lucky” survivor because I started weekly occupational and physical therapy at just six months and continued for 10 years in order to reach my full potential. And unlike many global survivors, I benefitted from access to high quality health care and good health insurance.

Stroke in babies, children and adolescents is often misdiagnosed or not diagnosed due to the lack of awareness that the condition can happen in this population. Yet every year, stroke occurs in five of 100,000 children. Of those who survive, more than 60 percent suffer permanent neurologic deficits.

Further, when a child suffers a stroke, the family may feel alone and vulnerable because supportive community resources and medical treatments are not universally available. This is a global challenge even in high-income countries like the United States.

My family saw this first-hand and took steps to support me and others like me. My mother started a local support group. Guest speakers and doctors came to the quarterly meetings, and we had annual community picnics. Despite physical limitations, kids would storm the playground and meet other children just like themselves. I would often give words of encouragement and answer questions from parents of younger stroke survivors. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a caring community for both the parents and children.

After six years locally, there was enough interest that my mom created a global organization, the International Alliance for Pediatric Stroke (IAPS). It partners with AHA and the University of North Carolina to produce resources and publications for families, patients and healthcare providers. The website is very comprehensive and has a vast number of publications, resources, current news, research, a list of organizations worldwide and inspiration. Information and inspiration are so important for survivors and their families.

Recently, I learned about a program by a mom with a pediatric stroke survivor. Her organization, Pediatric Stroke Warriors, assembles “Brave Boxes” that are given to children before they go into surgery or have a major medical appointment. The box contains toys and other fun goodies based upon the child’s age and is designed with the dual purpose of distracting the child and easing parents’ nervousness to see a happy child. Parents aren’t left out, either. They receive “Warrior Bags,” with educational tools from IAPS and lists of local and national resources so they can see there is a caring community surrounding them.

I just started my freshman year of college and hope to give back by starting a program with hospitals near my university that would create communities of care for pediatric stroke survivors. Ideally, it will be a peer-led mentoring program for other children affected by stroke.

Pediatric stroke survivors like me will need a lifetime of ongoing care, treatment and support. The same is true for everyone suffering from a noncommunicable disease. If you’re wondering where to start, try the American Heart Association’s Patient Support Network, the American Stroke Association or some of the other resources mentioned in this post. Together we can make a difference.

This blog was written by Michael Hulley of the American Heart Association.

It’s been two years since an artery spasm sent me to the emergency department at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Dallas. I’d been on the road for 16 days and was sitting in a meeting at the office, which just happens to be the American Heart Association. We’re closing up a discussion about ACLS when it started. Tunnel vision. Tightness in the chest. Pain. Clamminess. Thirty minutes later I’m  en route to the hospital, accompanied by my colleagues, ECC’s senior leadership.

The story ended well, but it’s illustrative of the need for AHA’s global mission. Baylor McKinney had excellent staff, new rooms and the most current equipment. A colleague knew to hand me an aspirin. I got admitted very quickly once at the hospital and was seen by highly trained healthcare providers.

But in my position within AHA’s International division affords me a look on the other side of the glass. What would have

happened if this occurred in a taxi in China? Or while in rural Central Africa? I had no idea what was going on – and I’m probably more educated in heart conditions than most. Would I have made it to a hospital? Would the treatment follow the AHA’s Guidelines Update for CPR and ECC or Get With the Guidelines program?

In China, where there is a shortage of doctors and nurses, average citizens gather in a room where medical professionals can examine up to eight people at a time. Hallways are wide to accommodate those who are waiting for treatment. Survival rates from out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are low – approximately one percent.

That’s why what the training and education that AHA is conducting in cooperation with the Chinese government and in 80 other countries is so important. It will save millions of people in that nation over the next decade.

It’s also a significant reason for our support of the World Heart Federation, the global cardiovascular advocacy organization, in its goal to reduce premature deaths around the world from cardiovascular disease (CVD) by 25 percent by 2025.

World Heart Day, September 29, 2016, recognizes that every year, 17.3 million lives are lost to heart disease and stroke. In fact, cardiovascular disease is the leading killer around the world. It’s our mission to change that and give people a fighting chance at survival. One way to do this is to control the four main risk factors of CVD: tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol.

After my scare I made deliberate lifestyle changes to power my life. I work out, even on the road. I changed my diet. I lost 16 pounds when I started taking my health seriously.

It’s time we reverse the trends of premature deaths from CVD and inequalities in low- and middle-income countries, which now account for 80 percent of CVD deaths.

Where you live shouldn’t determine if you live.

In case you missed it in last week’s American Heart Association News: a great CPR story illustrating the chain of survival in one of New York City’s busiest commuter and tourist locations.

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Three years before musician and actress Ilisa Juried appeared on The CW’s reality show Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious, her heart stopped in New York City’s Grand Central Station.

The then-18-year-old was sightseeing with her mom when they saw a group of hip-hop dancers performing at the train station, and Juried asked to join in. The lead dancer pulled her in, and a few moments later, Juried collapsed.

Deb Scholten, a nurse vacationing from Michigan, ran to Juried’s side and started CPR. When paramedics arrived 30 minutes later, they used an automated external defibrillator, or AED, to shock Juried’s heart back into a normal rhythm.

The Florida native spent six weeks in a New York City hospital, where doctors ultimately diagnosed her with long QT syndrome, a problem with the heart’s electrical system that can cause a fast, chaotic heart rhythm. The Juried family believes the condition, which is often inherited, may explain her father’s death from cardiac arrest at age 45.

While in the hospital, doctors implanted a cardioverter defibrillator, known as an ICD, to shock her heart back to its normal beat should a life-threatening rhythm ever occur.

“My [ICD] scar is my star,” said Juried, who is now 29 and lives in Los Angeles. “Every day I’m reminded of my strength, simply by what I’ve had to endure with my condition.”

The device has shocked her heart three times.

“I always faint right before it happens, so I don’t remember any of it,” she said.

Following her recovery, Juried scaled back on dance, focusing instead on her love for music and acting. During the past decade, she has appeared in dozens of commercials and recently released a jazz album titled Making History.

 

She takes medication to help manage her irregular heartbeat and is careful when doing any exercise. She also volunteers for the American Heart Association, sharing her story at local events and raising awareness about CPR.

“CPR is the only thing that saved me from major brain damage and kept me alive,” said Juried, who keeps in touch with Scholten through Facebook.

About 40 people each hour have a cardiac arrest while not in a hospital, and nine of 10 do not survive, according to AHA statistics. Yet receiving bystander CPR can double or even triple the victim’s chances of survival.

Juried first learned CPR as a teenager when she was a babysitter. Last October, she underwent training again.

“Everyone should learn CPR,” she said. “You can truly save someone’s life by learning simple techniques.”

Photos courtesy of Ilisa Juried