Featured here are the firefighters/paramedics who were the first responders to this particular 911 call. They received certificates of recognition from Zoll Medical; Sandoval County Fire and Rescue uses its AutoPulse, a portable CPR device. Sandoval County Fire and Rescue also presented the team with challenge coins. From left to right: Battalion Chief Gabriel Hernandez; Lt. EMS/Fire Amanda Campos; Lt. Eric Bock; Firefighter/Paramedic Melissa Groves; Captain Shannon Farrell (recently retired); Firefighter/EMT Michael Luby, and Virgil Gachupin, Volunteer Battalion Chief.
The importance of knowing CPR
Time is a non-recurring commodity, and most of us never have enough. But making the time to invest it wisely is important, even lifesaving. That’s what a resident learned this summer when CPR needed to be administered to a loved one experiencing a cardiovascular event. This individual had recently attended a county-sponsored CPR class just weeks earlier and knew what to do in this medical crisis.
“This was the best-case outcome in what was a worst-case situation,” Kenneth Snow, Deputy Chief of EMS shared. “What made the difference for the patient was that CPR was performed immediately following the 911 call and up until the Emergency Medical Services team arrived,” he continued. “Once on scene, our paramedics took appropriate measures to stabilize the patient, who was then transported to a local hospital.” That patient is doing well.
According to Deputy Chief Snow, this particular 911 call was a textbook example of the American Heart Association Chain of Survival, the life-saving sequential steps needed to maximize survival from sudden cardiac arrest. “Education is critical when critical care is needed,” he emphasized. “CPR classes like the one offered by the County’s Community Medicine team make a difference, and in cases like this, that difference is life.”
For more information visit: https://www.sandovalcountynm.gov/fire/community-medicine/
