SALEM Red Cross training revised to fit national guidelines

The local chapter received a donation of CPR mannequins from the National Automobile Dealers Association.
By NANCY TULLIS
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- The North Columbiana County Chapter of the American Red Cross is revising its first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation training to comply with new national guidelines.
Adell Phillis, director of health and safety for the local chapter, said chapter instructors are upgrading their certification to include the new guidelines and training in the use of the automatic external defibrillator, a simplified version of the device used by paramedics and other trained medical personnel to attempt to restore heart rhythm in certain cardiac emergencies.
Courses: The local Red Cross chapter provides monthly courses in cardiopulmonary resuscitation for adults, infants and children. Phillis said the courses based on the Emergency Cardiovascular Care Guidelines 2000 will make the course material and skills easier to learn.
Physicians and other medical professionals interested in CPR training met in San Diego in September 2000 and revised the guidelines, Phillis said. The guidelines apply to Red Cross, American Heart Association and any other agencies that provide CPR training, she said.
"The consumer program will be focused on individuals or families that want to learn lifesaving first aid and CPR skills but may not need a certificate," Phillis said. "Lifeguard certification will also include AED training."
Mannequins donated: Phillis said the local chapter also received a donation of CPR mannequins called a four-pack. She said the portable units donated by the National Automobile Dealers Association are "terrific for use at on-site classes at factories, schools and other training locations" where mannequins must be transported from the chapter house.
Mannequins such as those donated by the automobile dealers are essential to Red Cross training, as participants must demonstrate they can perform CPR and other skills to pass Red Cross courses, Phillis said.