CPR Saves Lives!

Recently there was a story in the media regarding a woman who suffered a heart attack while shopping at Target in Pico Rivera and the story illustrates why everyone should know CPR and first aid. It is a fact that CPR saves lives especially if it is a witnessed arrest.

Here is an excerpt from a story issued by Culver City Patch:

Mary Ann Verdugo, 49, suffered sudden cardiac arrest and collapsed while shopping at a Pico Rivera Target store on Aug. 31, 2008. Paramedics were called, but were unable to revive her. The Verdugo family sued, claiming Target should have had a defibrillator available in its store in case of medical emergency.

The family contended that the "inexpensive availability of AEDs and their ease of use with even minimal or no advance training have led to on-site CPR and AED assistance to now be an expected part of first aid response."

One would think that every retail outlet should have public access AED's however the courts do not agree. If retail outlets such as Target are not required to have AED's, it would make sense for the company to place them in stores anyway as a way of showing shopping guests they care. How many lives could be saved by having public access AED's?

The state's high court ruled that "under California law, Target's common law duty of care to its customers does not include a duty to acquire and make available an AED (automated external defibrillator) for use in a medical emergency."

The article goes on to say:

The case was originally dismissed by a federal court. The family appealed, eventually asking the state's highest court to determine if a duty to provide defibrillators exists under California law.

The state Supreme Court noted that defibrillators have been installed in many state-owned and leased buildings throughout California.

But the court found that the lawsuit fails to prove that Target's operations or the activities inside Target stores "indicate a high degree or heightened foreseeability that its patrons will suffer sudden cardiac arrest on its premises."

"Instead, it appears that the risk of such an occurrence is no 9greater at Target than at any other location open to the public," according to the ruling. "Furthermore, plaintiff argues in its brief that death is especially likely to result from sudden cardiac arrest that occurs in a big-box store 'because it is impossible for emergency crews to reach a stricken invitee in time' in a large, heavily trafficked building.

"There is nothing, however, to suggest that the risk of death from sudden cardiac arrest in a big-box store is any greater than the risk of death from sudden cardiac arrest that occurs at any other location that is equally or more distant from existing emergency medical services."

The court concluded there is nothing in California law requiring Target or other retailers to provide a defibrillator. It noted that the only state to have such a requirement on the books is Oregon, which has a statute requiring the owner of a "place of public assembly" to have at least one defibrillator in place.

I have always been an advocate of CPR and first aid training. This article and dozens like it really drive the point home that everyone should know how to perform CPR. What struck me in the article was no mention of any lifesaving interventions by shoppers in the store. People simply called 911 and that was it. We know for a fact that when 911 is called there are questions they ask to determine the nature of the injury or illness and in this case it was sudden cardiac arrest. At this time the 911 operator should have instructed the caller(s) to perform CPR and if they did not know how, the operator is qualified to guide the bystander.

Regardless of the situation, as I stated above...CPR saves lives!

As a result of this tragic death, I have begun to aggressively educate people why learning CPR is a valuable tool to have. I have found that it is easier and sometimes more difficult to get the word out based on certain demographics. 

When someone goes into cardiac arrest, there is about 2 to 3 minutes before death starts to set in. Many times and as a result of many variables, first responders may not arrive in that time.

We are encouraging "Big-Box" stores to train their employees on how to perform CPR. This should be required training as part of employment! No one should have to die because no one knew how to perform CPR. Golden State FIRE EMS offers training classes in CPR and can handle small to large groups.

For more information on training, please visit us at http://www.goldenstatefireems.com/