This article originally appeared on wric.com
National CPR and AED Awareness Week is upon us, and to bring attention to the life-saving tools, our own 8News Anchor Deanna Allbrittin tested her skills with support from the Richmond Ambulance Authority and the American Heart Association.
National CPR and AED Awareness Week spans from June 1 through June 7 each year, providing a reminder about how lives can be saved if more people learn CPR and how to use an AED.
With that in mind, Allbrittin took on the challenge of refreshing her skills and getting graded on how well she learned, with her skills stacked head-to-head with other local TV journalists.
First, she paid a visit to Richmond Ambulance Authority’s headquarters for a lesson on CPR and AED use.
“So, nice, hard, fast compressions is the key, and the other thing is — find an AED quick,” said Harold Mayfield, while providing CPR instructions.
After turning on the AED, Mayfield instructed that you should resume chest compressions and follow the AED’s guidance.
Allbrittin used two mannequins, the second of which alerted when compressions were perfect or needed an adjustment, like allowing the chest to recoil, or faster or slower pacing.
Following the lessons, Allbrittin took a trip to the Henrico Sports and Events Center, where she put her skills to the test at a CPR kiosk.
After a few practice rounds, the real 30-second test began. When the results appeared on the kiosk’s screen, they revealed a perfect score — 100%!
“Whoa, that was amazing to see how well you did on the very first try,” said Michelle Notheseide, executive director of the American Heart Association’s Richmond chapter, which created the kiosk.
Allbrittin’s score was not beaten, although another person came close, with a second-place score of 99%.
Notheseide explained that the kiosk, which will move around Richmond and Henrico County, was created to give the public a chance to practice and learn to feel more confident if CPR is ever required.
“Yeah, the whole point of this mobile CPR kiosk is for people to get practice and get that training so that they can increase their confidence, because we know in more than half of the cases, people don’t jump in when there’s a cardiac arrest,” Notheseide said. “And we want to flip that statistic.”
Following the experience, Allbrittin and 8News Anchor Eric Phillips broke down the process.
“Making it fun like this really does allow a lot of people to engage,” Allbrittin shared.
Allbrittin further added that the public should know that even without a passing score, they should remember that Good Samaritan laws protect someone providing CPR. In that way, someone who knows a bit about CPR and can be coached by dispatch is better than no help.
For more information about National CPR Awareness Week, click here.
