Most of us watched in horror last week as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field after a hard but fairly routine tackle. CPR and defibrillation were administered before he was whisked away by ambulance to a hospital, where he was admitted in critical condition. Because of the swift and competent medical treatment he received, he has been discharged from the hospital and returned to Buffalo for further recovery.
Another reason for his recovery is that he is a physically fit 24-year-old athlete – a demographic with generally good cardiac health.
So why am I writing about this today – on a Tuesday, when I usually write about the Osher program?
Well, most Osher members and instructors are 60+-year-olds who are sometimes fit but often not-so-fit. I started thinking about what resources we would have access to if someone in one of our classes suffered a medical emergency where seconds counted. So I started looking around to see if an appropriate response would be available if it were needed.
The William and Mary classrooms in which we teach should all have AED devices (defibrillators) either in the classrooms or in nearby halls. But I don’t know for sure, and I don’t know where they are. I’m going to check. We also teach in a repurposed office building that is not a regular William and Mary classroom building, and I don’t don’t think there is an AED in that building. I’ll check on that as well.
Even if we have those devices – are we sure that anyone in our classes knows how to use them? We’ve never offered any training in the use of this equipment, and we’re thinking that we probably should.
What about CPR training? When I was a public school teacher, we all had a list of teachers who were CPR certified so that we would know who to call if we needed assistance. Perhaps the Osher program could offer CPR as a regular course, and encourage instructors, class assistants, and class hosts to be proficient in those skills. I know that our members include retired doctors as well as first responders and military personnel who have this skill. We should identify them. Maybe all Osher staff should have this type of training, since those are the people we can contact most easily during a class. It would also be useful to know which of our members have medical training or CPR training when we are in classes together.
I’m not sure how to make all this happen. William and Mary has a whole stable of athletic trainers for their various programs, so I imagine we can find someone to provide the instruction we need. I am certain that we will make sure that the necessary equipment and training are in place so that if one of our 60+-year-old not-so-physically-fit members or instructors suffers a medical emergency, the result will be as positive as Damar Hamlin’s condition is today. Damar Hamlin was not saved by some sort of medical miracle; he was saved because he was a healthy young man and because life-saving treatment was virtually immediately available for him, with equipment and trained individuals to keep him alive.
We owe our members nothing less.
If you’re not part of the Osher program, you probably participate in other programs in your community. What do you know about CPR and defibrillator training in your group? Would you know what to do if you had to save somebody’s life?
Great idea! And as usual you are a person of action. Training everyone (or those that may be interested) in basic CPR and use of defibrillator is not that daunting anymore. The crew of Jamestown’s historic ships are retrained every several years. Those defibrillators on the walls include picture instructions that walk you through its use. As for CPR, the latest training, at least for us older guys, was chest compressions the key thing. Don’t need mouth to mouth for heart attacks ( I think still may do for drownings)That’s what I recall. I’ll leave it to the experts but like everything there are many different levels to develop expertise. Lots of people with a general knowledge that would take immediate action maybe better than waiting to find someone with Superior expertise.
It’s all true. I receive my health care at the University of Rochester Medical Center system in Rochester, New York. The day after Damar’s incident, I was scheduled for a routine dental appointment and when I arrived at the office, there was a huge sign indicating the location of the AED. The sign has always been there, but this time, I read it. You’re correct, Karen, in noting the importance of this for our Osher program. But let’s also advocate for a similar program throughout our communities. The Buffalo Bills organization is doing so in the Buffalo area and I will follow up in Rochester.