Florence paramedic teaches others to save lives.Byline: PROFILE by The Register-Guard CORRECTION (ran 2/2/2006): A profile of Florence Florence, city, Italy Florence (flôr`əns, flŏr`–), Ital. Firenze, city (1991 pop. 403,294), capital of Tuscany and of Firenze prov., central Italy, on the Arno River, at the foot of the Apennines. paramedic par·a·med·ic n. A person who is trained to give emergency medical treatment or assist medical professionals. paramedic John Carnahan on Page C2 on Wednesday Wednesday: see week. incorrectly attributed which agency purchased Automated External Defibrillators automated external defibrillator Emergency medicine A portable device designed for use by first-response personnel for out-of-hospital emergency treatment of Pts suffering from cardiac arrest. See First-response personnel. installed in the Florence area. The Western Lane Ambulance District has purchased 17 AEDs during a five-year period and installed them in schools, fire departments and City Hall. Name: John Carnahan, Florence. Claim to fame: He has been teaching CPR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Definition Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a procedure to support and maintain breathing and circulation for a person who has stopped breathing (respiratory arrest) and/or whose heart has stopped (cardiac for about 30 years, most of that time at the Western Lane Ambulance District in Florence. Anyone can learn: Carnahan estimates he's helped train about 1,000 people to do CPR. Sometimes he comes to their workplace, such as a recent training at a dental office, and other times groups come to the ambulance district for the course. A first aid and CPR class generally lasts five hours and Carnahan says during that time he can have most people confident enough to administer CPR in an emergency. "You get the opportunity to build your self-confidence, and it could save a life," Carnahan says. CPR + AED AED - Automated Engineering Design = better chance: When Carnahan first began teaching CPR, use of Automated External Defibrillators was not part of the training. Now, increasingly, AED classes are gaining in popularity. In the Florence area, the fire district has bought the devices - used to shock someone whose heart has stopped - and put them in key areas around town, including the schools. Carnahan says CPR is at best probably between 8 percent to 12 percent effective. "But you are giving them a chance," he says, adding defibrillation Defibrillation Definition Defibrillation is a process in which an electronic device sends an electric shock to the heart to stop an extremely rapid, irregular heartbeat, and restore the normal heart rhythm. increases the chances of survival to 50 percent. "The more people that are trained out there, the better chance of survival," he says. "There is no law that requires anyone to do CPR on another person. If you feel comfortable and I can get you to feel comfortable starting CPR, (their) chance of survival is just increased. ... It's one of the things you can do that I think can make a difference in the long run. That's why I do it." - Serena Markstrom CAPTION(S): John Carnahan, with one of his `helpers,' has taught hundreds how to perform CPR. |
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