There are many industries that are required and mandated to have CPR certifications and First Aid training to stay compliant with regulatory agencies like Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), Department of Public Health (DPH) and Massachusetts Early Education and Care (EEC). These regulations are in place to promote a safe work environment.

Who makes you as an individual get this training?

The answer is no one! In my opinion, everyone should get trained. About 75 to 80 percent of all out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at home. This could mean the difference between life of death for a loved one.

Would you like the power to double the chance of survival of a loved one if they go into cardiac arrest?

You do have that power, if you provide CPR immediately you can double that chance that they will live. Approximately 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die on the way to the hospital. If no one does CPR immediately the chance of survival is only 7-10 percent. WOW those aren't good odds.

Are you a new parent, grandparent or babysitter?

What if the child began to choke? Contrary to popular belief picking the child up by the leg and hitting them in the back is not the right procedure. In a CPR course you can learn how to manage any size and weight of a child when you need to help them if they are choking.

Do you have a pool, live on a lake or the ocean?

If someone was to drown and you pull them out of the water, the next step is to perform CPR, exchanging air for water until you clear the lungs,and finally do compressions until they show signs of life.

 Feeling helpless is one of the worst emotions to deal with. What if I did something different? What if I didn't do enough? What if i knew how to do CPR? What if I where trained in obstructed airway?

 Don't let yourself get into this position, find a training and sign yourself up.

The new concept of Hands Only CPR under the RIGHT circumstance can be just as effective as Tradditional CPR, 2 breaths, 30 compressions, 5 cycles in 2 minutes.

In surveys taken, trained and untrained lay rescuers said they would be more apt to help someone if they did not have to do "mouth to mouth" on the victim. So, by doing fast and hard compressions you can help the victim and give them the same chance of survival as if you add rescue breaths.

This is only true under the RIGHT circumstances. The Hands Only CPR can only be effective if you witness the person go unresponsive from cardiac arrest. The key is you must witness it happen in order to use the Hands Only CPR.

CPR is to keep oxygenated blood pumping to the brain to keep it from dying. When your brain hits 4 minutes of no oxygenated blood going to it, it will begin to die. So, when you witness someone go unresponsive from cardiac arrest the body stores at least 4 minutes worth of oxygenated blood in their body. Some research has shown that the body may store even  more oxygen in the blood, as much as 6 to 8 minutes worth. So, if you do fast and hard compressions you will give the victime the best change of survival. 

So, those numbers would work based on the national average that EMS response time is 8 minutes.That is why and how the Hands Only CPR can and will be effective. Please note response times will vary depending on your location. 

Hands Only CPR will NOT work under the following conditions: when you find someone who has gone unresponsive from cardiac arrest, when you are already using an AED or If the victime is a child or an infant.

In summary, basically, if you witness or find someone who is unresponsive and not breathing they are dead. You can not make anyone worse off than dead, so, anything you do can only help. More people might be willing to help if they only did compressions and that is better than nothing.

For further information or if you have questions please feel free to contact us.

It has been a long time coming. The Federal Government has taken another step to help the chance of survival for victims of sudden cardiac arrest.They have declared the first week of June "National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Awareness Week".

In a staggering study it is found that there is a 95 percent mortality rate for over 300,000 Americans who are victims of sudden cardiac arrest each year.

It is also estimated that on average it takes 8 to 10 minutes for first responders(9-1-1) to reach a victim. This number can vary depending on your location. Why is this important?

The reason that this is so important is because after four minutes without oxygen going to your brain it will begin to die. After eight minutes it becomes the point of no return, irreversible brain death begins to occur so even if the heart is restarted the damage after eight minutes can never come back. This is why we need people to do CPR.

You can read the whole article that was released by clicking here.

 This is an important step for making a difference. If people now become more aware of this situation and learn how YOU can make a difference than we can change these statistics and have a positive outcome for victims of sudden cardiac arrest. There are also programs out there that are now trying to make a difference such as:

• AED Implementation programs
• Public Access to Defibrillators (PAD) Program
• HeartSafe Community
• Family & Friends CPR and First Aid

With a lot of attention now on these issues we hope to start to create safer environment for everyone.

It is estimated that 350,000 people die suddenly each year from ventricular fibrillation (VF) to the heart. Often times doing just CPR is not enough. Currently only 5% of sudden cardiac arrest victims survive in places where no AED programs have been established.

The AED (Automated External defibrillator) is designed to help in this very instance. An AED will shock the heart and hopes to get the heart to start to beat normally again. If an AED is attached to someone within the first three (3) minutes of cardiac arrest you may give upwards of a 74% chance of survival. CPR alone may only give me around a 14% chance of survival.

These statistics are why there is a PAD program which is a Public Access to defibrillator program that puts these machines in such places as major airports, gyms & fitness facilities, subways, shopping malls high schools, etc.

Thank goodness for organizations out there like the  Initial Life Support (ILS) Foundation which provide vendors with the capability to offer AED Grant programs.

In a training that I did last night I presented the class participants with I.C.E stickers and the handout that Safety Trainers has to go along with them.

One individual said to me "I heard about that before but I didn't believe it was real"

 Since that was not the first time something like that has been said to me it really got me thinking......

I need to let people know about this program.

The I.C.E. sticker is a way to show lay and professional rescuers that you have listed the In Case of Emergency contact in your mobile device.

 In the event that something happens to YOU how can we identify who you are and if there is medical information that we should know about to better help YOU.

If you ever got an email about this or read it in a magazine, medical professionals( EMT's, Paramedics, Police and Fire Fighters) are trained to take a look at your phone for this sticker to identify an established emergency communications protocol. This started in the UK and has now traveled into the US.

Do you travel overseas for business?

This is spreading as a world-wide campaign!

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact us.

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According to the American heart Association the first link in the chain of survival is recognizing an emergency and calling 911. . Some people hesitate because they are scared or not sure if it is important enough to call. In our classes we talk about some major points to take into consideration:

1. Calling 911 from a land line telephone vs. cell phone
2. What the differences are when you do call from a cell phone.
3. The four(4) basic questions you will need to answer.
4. Response times in your area.

The 911 section covers more than these four questions but that should start to raise questions like:

•  Do I know what to do?
• Where should I call from?
• Can I get in trouble if I call?
• How long will it take for help to arrive?

We will help prepare you in the event of an emergency.

Do you have an I.C.E. sticker on your phone for protection?

 Contact Safety Trainersfor further information on our training courses.

You may be able to identify those four letters that spell OSHA, but do you know what they do? How does OSHA impact your business? As a small business owner you may not think you need to worry about OSHA but you do. If you employ one employee you need to worry about OSHA.

OSHA protects the employee and sets guidelines and expectations for the employer. Why will OSHA knock on your door? First, if an employee is injured on the job and seeks medical attention that report is automatically sent to OSHA from the hospital. Next, any current employee or former employee can call OSHA to file a complaint which could result in an investigation.

Are you ready to be investigated by OSHA? Have you done any safety training? Do you have an Emergency Action Plan? Do you have copies of all completed certifications and trainings? Has your CPR, first aid and AED certification card expired? OUCH!!! That is going to cost you!!! You better start checking. Fines from OSHA are in the thousands and now you will have follow up visits and if you don't fix the problem.... Well, let's say you are red flagged and now run the risk of jail time because you are intentionally ignoring the request by OSHA to make changes in your safety program.

To see a list of available OSHA courses click here.

I recieved a call from a general contractor who had another company do some work on a job site. Well, one of those workers was injured, the hospital sent the report to OSHA and OSHA showed up. The owner of the contracting business didn't even know the person was hurt or that the company is required to have OSHA training. This subcontractor fell off a 9 foot ladder working on a 10 foot deck. By OSHA standards the ladder is too short and where was his fall protection gear? Did they even do fall protection training? NO. His fine started at $10,000. Do you have an extra $10,000 to give to OSHA?

There is a golf course in Central Massachusetts who had OSHA show up because a former employee felt that he was at risk. Why? Because the golf course didn't have respiratory gear for him to wear while he was working in the sand bunkers and they did not supply suntan lotion while he worked in the sun. Can you believe that? Now OSHA knew it was a angry former employee, but they still came to investigate and still required changes to occur. However, they did not receive a fine.

Do you have a story to tell about a visit from OSHA? We would love to hear about it. Contact Us

Did you know that the American Heart Association (AHA) does all the research and writes the Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC) guidlines for CPR, First Aid and Automated External Defibullators (AEDs)? The American Red Cross (ARC) uses the American Heart Association Guidelines to create their programs. So, if you wanted the best CPR program, wouldn't you want to work with the person who did all the research and wrote all the guidelines? I would.

As a business owner, I know safety is important, However, why would I spend more time and more money on a CPR class if Massachusetts General Laws and OSHA say that I only need to do CPR every two years not every year. The American Red Cross issues their CPR certification cards for ONLY one year. You will also find that if you take an American Red Cross certification course the time lines are much longer than an American Heart Association, National Safety Council or American Health & Safety Institute. Why is that?

I just want my staff trained to know what to do in an emergency for the first few minutes while they wait for help to arrive. I don't need my staff trained to be like an EMT. 

To view a detailed comparison between AHA and ARC click here.

Productivity is effected and too many staffing hours are needed to plan, schedule and do CPR training. So, if the American Red Cross CPR class is longer and I only get a one year certification,why would I do that? I wouldn't.

Which class would you choose? I know I choose the American Heart Association CPR, AED and First Aid Trainings.

Let me ask you. Have you ever taken an American Red Cross Class? If yes, tell about your experience.