Knowing how to properly administer basic First Aid to an individual in a medical emergency can make the difference between life and death, which is why the Marin County Health and Human Services Department is offering free sidewalk classes this Saturday.
Members of the public will receive training between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on how to correctly perform CPR, use a defibrillator, administer the opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan, and control severe bleeding under the guidance of medical professionals.
The 13 outdoor training locations are: the Bon Air Shopping Center in Greenbrae, Town Center Corte Madera, Fairfax Fire Station 21, Marin Country Mart in Larkspur, San Rafael’s Montecito Plaza, the Muir Beach parking lot, Sausalito’s ferry terminal, the intersection of Shoreline Highway and Calle del Mar in Stinson Beach, Target in Marin City, Tiburon’s ferry terminal, The Depot Cafe and Bookstore in Mill Valley, Toby’s Feed Barn in Point Reyes Station, and Novato’s Vintage Oaks Shopping Center.
“Most importantly this is about saving lives,” said Christian Lombard, an emergency medical services specialist with Marin County. “We want our public to feel confident to do effective chest compressions until professional help arrives.”
The American Heart Association estimates more than 350,000 cardiac arrests happen outside of hospitals every year. This is dangerous because if the heart stops pumping blood, vital organs like the brain aren’t receiving enough oxygen and begin to shut down. CPR is used to continue circulating oxygen throughout an individual’s body by putting pressure on the heart to have it pump some blood.
Trainings such as Saturday’s sidewalk CPR workshops will help members of the public learn about the proper position, depth, and pace a person should be performing to optimize the chances someone survives a cardiac arrest event. The proper use of an automated external defibrillator can also assist in restarting the rhythm of a heart.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say synthetic opioids like fentanyl contribute to nearly 70 percent of overdose deaths in the U.S. Narcan, a brand name for naloxone, is a medication that is administered nasally and can assist in reversing an opioid overdose quickly and safely.
Severe bleeding such as from an artery can quickly result in death from a dramatic loss of blood, so Marin County officials will also educate the public on how to use tourniquets and other methods to stem blood loss.
“This is a 100 percent a community event. This would not be possible without the fire departments, the hospitals, and volunteers,” said Lombard. “We have zero budget for this, but this is possible because people give their time for volunteer preparedness.”
More information about the Sidewalk CPR event is available on the Marin County website.