The partner that supplies us with the CPR Prompt manikins has notified us that the NSC Infant Tan Manikin 5- Pack, item #196880000, has changed. In the past, the product came with manikins that did not have arms or legs and were in one bag. They will now be sending full body infant manikins in two bags to complete the 5-pack. There is no change in price to our customers for the full body manikins. Barbara Caracci has reviewed the new manikin and has determined it to be of equal quality to what we have been providing.
Please click on the link below to find out about medical recalls.
http://pulsepoint.org/app/
is where site visitors try to save a virtual life, learning what to do should they witness sudden cardiac arrest. Launched in April, nearly 3 million potential lifesavers have visited this site.
By sharing your “real-world” inspiring stories, and thanking the people who saved your life, we want to encourage others to take action in the future. As you know, it could mean the difference between life and death.
Please click on the link!
Four researchers from Washington State University conducted a study to determine whether students were more satisfied with American Heart Association HeartCode BLS courses or instructor-led CPR courses, and which type of post-course CPR practice improved students’ confidence to perform CPR. While the study involved nursing students, the results can be generalized to reflect CPR courses taught to lay rescuers. Here is the study abstract, taken from Pub Med.gov.
Student satisfaction and self report of CPR competency: HeartCode BLS courses, instructor-led CPR courses, and monthly voice advisory manikin practice for CPR skill maintenance.
Montgomery C, Kardong-Edgren SE, Oermann MH, Odom-Maryon T.
Source
Washington State University, USA.
cecily.montgomery@email.wsu.eduAbstract
This study evaluated the effects of brief monthly refresher training on CPR skill retention, confidence, and satisfaction with CPR skill level of 606 nursing students from ten different US schools. Students were randomized to course type, HeartCode™ Basic Life Support (BLS) or an instructor-led (IL) course, and then randomized to a practice group, six minutes of monthly practice or no further practice. End-of-study survey results were compiled and reported as percentages. Short answer data were grouped by category for reporting. Fewer HeartCode™ BLS students were satisfied with their CPR training compared to the IL students. Students who practiced CPR monthly were more confident than students who did not practice. Monthly practice improved CPR confidence, but initial course type did not. Students were most satisfied when they participated in the IL courses and frequent practice of CPR skills.
Hands-on Skills Training Must Be Included
In a recent letter of interpretation, OSHA held that online First Aid and CPR courses must contain hands-on training to comply with OSHA requirements for such training. Here is the August 2, 2012 letter.
OSHA Reply Aug 2012 re online courses and skills testing.pdf
If you take a close look at the Prestan Professional Adult Manikin you would have noticed that on the top of the head there was an ‘alignment slot’ in the face skin. This ‘alignment slot’ lined up with an indentation in the front molded plastic of the head and was originally intended to assist with placing the face skin on the head. Over time it became evident that the need for the ‘alignment slot’ was not necessary. Several instructors questioned why it was there and, once it was explained, indicated that it wasn’t necessary. It was decided that when the occasion arose and it made sense to re-do the mold for the face skin that the ‘alignment slot’ would be removed. That time has come and we are happy to report that the ‘alignment slot’ is no longer part of the adult manikin face skin for the light, medium and dark skin adults. Not a substantial change and not one that affects the performance of the product, but we thought we would bring it to your attention in case anyone notices!
We are excited to announce our partnership with Philips. This partnership allows us to expand our product line of high quality training programs and offer AEDs to our instructors at an affordable price. You can now purchase defibrillators, AED trainers, training pads, replacement pads and batteries directly from NSC. NSC Members will receive a 20% discount off of list price.
For more information please call 800-621-7615 ext. 52106 or your local NSC Chapter.
Philips Information Sheet
AED and Accessories Price Grid
State Laws on Cardiac Arrest and Defibrillators
AED Product Comparison
Many people are using the ICE method of letting the authorities know who you would like to be notified in case of emergency. Click below for the latest power point and fact sheet regarding this popular practice.
An increase or decrease in your blood pressure during middle age can significantly impact your lifetime risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to research in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers found people who maintained or reduced their blood pressure to normal levels by age 55 had the lowest lifetime risk for CVD (between 22 percent to 41 percent risk). In contrast, those who had already developed high blood pressure by age 55 had a higher lifetime risk (between 42 percent to 69 percent risk).
Using data from 61,585 participants in the Cardiovascular Lifetime Risk Pooling Project, researchers examined how changes in blood pressure during middle age affected lifetime CVD risk. Previous studies had considered a single measurement at a given age. In this study, age 55 was considered a mid-point for middle age.
Starting with baseline blood pressure readings from an average of 14 years prior, researchers tracked blood pressure changes until age 55, then continued to follow the patients until the occurrence of a first cardiovascular event (including heart attack or stroke), death or age 95.
“Taking blood pressure changes into account can provide more accurate estimates for lifetime risk of cardiovascular disease, and it can help us predict individualized risk, and thus, individualized prevention strategies,” said Norrina Allen, Ph.D., lead author of the study and assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. “Both avoiding hypertension during middle age or delaying the onset of the development of hypertension appear to have a significant impact on an individual’s remaining lifetime risk for CVD.”
Every year, more than 60,000 young children end up in emergency rooms because they got into medicines while their parent or caregiver was not looking. The Up and Away and Out of Sight educational program was created to remind families of the importance of safe medicine storage.
To help keep children safe through proper medicine storage, Up and Away and Out of Sight educates parents and caregivers by: reminding them about safe medicine storage; providing them with information and tools to keep their child/children safe; and encouraging them to take action. To learn more about the program and its resources and tools, visit www.UpandAway.org.
National Safety Council is a proud partner of the Up and Away and Out of Sight educational program. The Up and Away and Out of Sight educational program is part of CDC’s PROTECT Initiative.
The National Safety Council, as part of our teen driving initiative with The Allstate Foundation, has committed to identify, recruit and train a group of “survivor advocates” who have been personally affected by teen crashes. As we have learned from past experience, and as The Allstate Foundation clearly understands, personal stories are a vital element to changing behavior and influencing policy. Gathering and sharing stories shows that there are families behind the statistics who are missing their loved ones. Making a positive impact on others by sharing these stories can also be of great benefit to those working through grief or recovering from serious injury.
Today, NSC will publicly announce the establishment of the HEARTS Network (Honoring Everyone Affected, Rallying The Survivors). As part of the announcement, we will make a national plea for names and stories of those who have been affected by a teen crash. We will be collecting stories and contacting those wishing to become involved in the Hearts Network. The name, HEARTS Network, was intentionally chosen to not include a reference to “teens” or “driving” in the hope that it may someday evolve into an NSC survivor network that includes survivors of workplace and home and community incidents.
The National Safety Council has partnered with First Student, the largest provider of student transportation services in North America, to share important back-to-school safety information with the public. Millions of students will head back to school in the next month, along with thousands of school buses. All motorists should know how to safely share the roads with school buses, pedestrians and bicyclists. It also is a good time for parents and children to talk about how to stay safe at school.
NSC and First Student have provided fact sheets and a video covering important safety topics, such as: driving tips for motorists, bus safety, pedestrian safety, bicycling safety, backpack safety, playground safety and bullying.
For more information on back-to-school safety, visit nsc.org/back2school
We are now accepting instructor renewals via an online process. This new process will allow you to choose either a one year renewal for $40.00 or a three year renewal for $95.00. Look for this information on your instructor renewal notice.
In the CPR portion of our new NSC First Aid, CPR & AED DVD the students practice each of the parts of CPR (e.g., pump, breathe, pump + breathe) fewer times than they did in the last iteration until they get to the end, where they do a full 2 minutes of CPR. In the new course they are compressing at the required rate of at least 100 compressions/minute. The rescuer in the last iteration of the DVD was compressing slower than 100 compressions/minute. For this reason, your students may feel that the practice is more physically demanding than ever before.
To prepare your students for the demands of compressing the chest hard and fast, we advise you to tell prospective students to dress comfortably and in layers, bring a kneeling pad, and expect that the class will be physically demanding. Perhaps a note about adrenalin flowing to carry a rescuer through the demanding task of compressing the chest hard and fast in a real cardiac emergency also will go far to allay any fears about being physically able to provide CPR.
Washington, DC- A Dutch study published online Monday in Annals of Emergency Medicine reports that less than half (47 percent) of people in a public place with access to an automatic external defibrillator (AED) would be willing to use it, with more than half (53 percent) unable even to recognize one ("Public Access Defibrillation: Time to Access the Public").
"An AED is only beneficial if a bystander is willing to use it when someone is in cardiac arrest,” said lead study author Patrick Schober, MD, Ph.D., of V.U. University Medical Center in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. “AEDs are increasingly available in public places, such as the train station where we conducted our survey. However, in our study, only 28 percent of participants correctly identified the AED, knew its purpose and expressed a willingness to use it.”
Just over one-third (34 percent) of participants stated that anyone is allowed to use an AED, with nearly half (49 percent) believing only trained personnel may use it. The most frequently mentioned reason given for not using an AED was not knowing how it works (69 percent), following by fear of harming the victim (14 percent). Only 6 percent of study participants spontaneously mentioned AEDs in response to a question about what should be done as quickly as possible for someone suspected of being in cardiac arrest.
Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of mortality in North America and Europe. Odds of survival decline by 7 to 10 percent per minute of delay in defibrillation. AED application by bystanders saves only 1.4 lives per one million people in North America.
“AEDs are actually very easy to use, but it is obvious that the public has not gotten that message,” said Dr. Schober. “Only a minority of individuals demonstrated both knowledge and willingness to operate an AED. Wide-scale public information campaigns are an important next step to exploit the lifesavings potential of public AEDs.”