First Care Skills Taught By Palos Park Police This Wednesday

PALOS PARK, IL — In times of disasters or emergencies, it’s often bystanders who keep victims with life-threatening injuries alive until first responders arrive. The Palos Park Police Department will offer first care training to community members from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 9. Training will take place at the Palos Park police station, 8999 W. 123rd St. .

Officer Frank Flores will give an overview of the “Until Help Arrives” program, which aims to teach bystanders how to keep victims with life-threatening injuries alive until EMS arrives.

“Our key message to the public is personal preparedness and resiliency, by being mindful of upcoming weather conditions year-round,” Flores said. “Is there a storm coming and you’re a diabetic reliant on insulin? Get your refill ahead of time.”

Flores said someone could be running errands and see someone suffering a cardiac arrest or checking out at the grocery store and witness a person trip, fall and hit their leg on something sharp — or we could witness something far more traumatic.

When a gunman opened fire on 22,000 Las Vegas concertgoers on Oct. 1, 2017, everyday citizens were helping people run for cover, transporting wounded victims and tying tourniquets to stop major bleeding.

Something as simple as first care training, according to FireRescue1 columnist and retired fire chief Rob Wylie, can empower citizens to transition from hapless bystanders to lifesavers. “Until Help Arrives” was developed to educate and prepare the public “to be the help” by teaching them basic lifesaving skills should the need arise.

The two-and-a-half-hour program covers:

Calling and conveying useful information to 9-1-1
Protecting the injured from harm
Stopping bleeding by tying a tourniquet
Positioning the injured so they can breathe
Providing comfort

The program also covers public bleeding control kits. The kits, much like access to an AED defibrillator, contain gloves, gauze, tourniquets and other supplies in public places to help control life-threatening bleeding.

No preregistration is required. If you want to learn something useful, just show up.