Using an AED is SHOCKINGLY SIMPLE

It’s shockingly simple to save a life. The Emergency Services Division of Public Health – Seattle & King County launched the Shockingly Simple Campaign to increase adoption and registration of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in Seattle and King County. Every year more than 300,000 Americans die from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) – a condition in which the heart unexpectedly stops beating. It can happen anywhere, to anyone, at any time, even to those with optimal heart health. And when it occurs – seconds count. 

AEDs are designed to diagnose this life-threatening abnormal heart rhythm caused by SCA and will determine the need to deliver a shock that will restore the heart’s normal rhythm before emergency teams arrive. In many cases, AED use is a victim’s only chance of survival. In fact, studies have shown a 70-80% chance of survival if an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is used within minutes on an SCA victim.

AEDs are very simple to use and each device provides step-by-step audio instruction to walk you through the process.

 “It’s shockingly simple to restart a heart with an AED,” said David Fleming, PhD. and executive director of Public Health – Seattle & King County. “We launched this campaign with the support of business and community leaders to encourage professionals to purchase and register AEDs, which have the potential to save lives within their organizations and communities.”

ESC often hears about how an AED has saved a life within our service area.  Unfortunately, there are also cases where people lose a family member or friend because an AED was not available.  This is why we have joined the Shockingly Simple campaign and registered our AED with Public Health - Seattle & King County to ensure 9-1-1 operators know its location and can direct people to it in case of an emergency. We will also alert our neighbors, since we believe having an AED is not only good business practice for us, but also helps our local community.

If you have an AED, we encourage you to register it.  If your organization does not have an AED, we encourage you to purchase one.  If you need training we can help with that too.  

The life it saves may be yours!

First aid training can mean the difference between life and death

Is your company in compliance?
Are your employees at risk?

Ask yourself these questions:
• Is your company located less than four minutes away from EMS responders?
• Are your employees trained to recognize and respond to a life-threatening situation?
• Do you have an onsite emergency response team?

If you answer "NO" to even one of these questions, the chances of survival for an employee who experiences cardiac arrest or other medical emergency are severely diminished.

ESC can help. We offer:

First Aid / CPR / AED Instructor training courses, so your trainer can train our employees,

Open enrollment First Aid / CPR / AED at our Seattle Training Center, and

Onsite training throughout the northwest. We can come to your organization and train instructors or individuals.

For more information call or email Stephanie today 1-800-521-0778.

Attention ASHI Instructors

We have finally received word on the new ASHI instructor/student materials. All of the following items are available for pre-order at this time for delivery in the middle of June. Only instructors that have gone through the Instructor Upgrade will be allowed to purchase the new material.

• BFA Instructor Package (DVD & PPT) - $115


• BFA Instructor Manual - $50


• BFA Student Book/Card - $8


• CPR/AED Instructor Package (DVD & PPT) - $115


• CPR/AED Instructor Manual - $50


• CPR/AED Student Book/Card - $7


• BFA/CPR/AED Student Book/Card - $9.75


• CPR Pro Instructor Package (DVD & PPT) - $115


• CPR Pro Instructor Manual - $50


• CPR Pro Student Book/Card - $8.5

Each instructor is required to have an Instructor Guide for each program they teach. Each company (and it’s locations) are required to have a package. A letter will be mailed to each instructor next week with more details on when the material should be ready, etc.

To place a pre-order you can send Stephanie an email or call 800-521-0778 to speak with Stephanie or Chris.

Safety & Health Solutions - May edition

Evergreen Safety Council produces a monthly newsletter covering a variety of safety topics. Each month we will provide a link here to the online PDF.

Inside this Issue:

Lead Article – Emergency Preparedness

People in Safety – Jeff Long, OSHA 500 and HAZWOPER Instructor

Regular Articles:

• When is Compression-Only (Hands-Only) CPR Appropriate?


• Five Things I’d Like to See


• Zirkle Fruit Awarded the Safety Excellence Award


• Positioning Your Vehicle Safety in the Great Outdoors


• Regular Features: Membership Corner, Forklift Corner, Calendar of Events, Safety Gallery, and more....

You can also sign up to receive an electronic copy via email or hard copy via the mail. This link will also take you to a full archive with over four years of past issues.

So pour yourself a cup of coffee, sit back and read all about what's going on in the world of safety & health.

First Aid/CPR/AED Training Saves Lives

We offer a variety of American Safety & Health Institute (ASHI) courses, including onsite CPR/AED-only classes and instructor training designed especially for workplace settings. Know the signs of a heart attack, so you'll be ready to react effectively - some are sudden and intense, but more start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Look for:

• Chest discomfort. Pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the chest that lasts for a few minutes or comes and goes.
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, shoulders, back, neck, jaw or stomach.
• Shortness of breath. Often accompanies chest discomfort.
• Other sign may include light-headedness, fainting, sweating or nausea.

For more information about our first aid training, contact Stephanie Dyck or call 800-521-0778.

First Aid Instructor Update for New 2010 CPR Guidelines

Dear First Aid Instructor,

The new 2010 Guidelines for CPR and ECC have been announced by ILCOR and AHA. ASHI has been working very hard to get as much information together as possible for an interim period. Below is an explanation of the process you will be required to partake in order to maintain your instructor certification credentials.

1. Starting November 15th interim materials will be available for download from http://www.hsi.com/ (probably on the instructor portal). This will include instructor supplemental materials and student materials. You will continue to use the current material and handouts for the student.

2. EVERY INSTRUCTOR will be required to go through an upgrade in order to teach the new 2010 guidelines and receive the new books and cards. You will have until 12/31/11 to upgrade to the new guidelines. By completing the Update Process you will have the ability to teach HSI’s new G2010 training programs and issue provider-level certification cards, you will receive a new G2010 Instructor card (new card will use instructor’s current renewal date) and you will have access to digital G2010 Instructor Guides. There are two ways you can upgrade:

a. Starting November 22nd you can go to http://www.hsi.com/, sign in to the instructor portal and upgrade online. At this time the process takes approximately 1-2 hours and the cost is $20 payable to Evergreen Safety Council.
or
b. Attend an upgrade with Evergreen Safety Council in a classroom setting. The class will be about 4 hours and cost $40. You can register online or you can download a registration form (pdf) and mail/fax it back to us.

A benefit to attending a class will be the option of sending in questions you’d like answered and/or topics you would like discussed, as well as additional instructor development techniques.

Current upgrade classroom schedule:
December 15, 2010 – Seattle from 8am-12pm
January 18, 2011 – Seattle from 12:30pm-4:30pm
February 8, 2011 – Shelton area from 8am-12pm
February 28, 2011 – Spokane area - tba
Other areas can be scheduled with enough interest

First Aid, CPR/AED and CPR for the Professional Rescuer materials are estimated to be available to instructors during the second quarter. Other materials such as Oxygen Administration, Bloodborne Pathogens and Spanish FA/CPR are estimated to be available by the end of 2011.

Please do not hesitate in contacting Stephanie Dyck First Aid Programs Coordinator, or call 206-382-4090 or 800-521-0778 if you have any questions or concerns.

A-B-Cs Now C-A-B

Contributed by Eric Tofte, Director of Training, Evergreen Safety Council
On October 18, 2010 the American Heart Association announced the 2010 CPR guidelines. Like everything else, more information is to come, but the big thing is that A-B-C has now been change to C-A-B, Compressions, airway and breathing. The emphasis will be on the compressions being first, then airway and breathing. The ratio is still 30:2, but the compressions should be at least 2 inches and the beat needs to be at least 100 per minute.

ESC staff will be attending an ASHI (American Safety & Health Institute) Informational training on November 15th and hope to provide ASHI Instructor information on update requirements and new training material revision information by the 1st of December. ESC will be publishing more information as it becomes available, but for now instructors should stay with the A-B-C training and continue to purchase currently published materials until things are officially sent out by American Heart and ASHI.