Community CPR Training
Learn from CPR & AED instructor, John Cobb!
Formerly a military hospital corpsman, John tells us about how he transitioned to working as a civilian training instructor.
He now focuses on creating a friendly and welcoming environment when teaching Basic Life Support courses. In doing so, he wants his students to understand the importance of getting involved and taking action before vital organs begin to die during cardiac arrest.
John reminds us that anyone is at risk of going into cardiac arrest – at any age – and that quick action is needed to save lives!
In this video you’ll learn…
- How John transitioned from providing care in the military to working in the civilian community
- Why John does what he does
- How John explains Sudden Cardiac Arrest
Highlights
- (01:00) John defines SCA in his own words
- (02:13) What should be done to spread more awareness about CPR and AEDs
- (03:08) How to get more AEDs in communities
Related Links
Full Transcript
John (00:06):
My name is John Cobb and I’m paramedics CPR educator and trainer serve 20 years in the Navy as a Navy hospital corpsman and flew search and rescue in the military and really got interested in educating the community with CPR first aid techniques while I was in the military and kind of transformed that from the military environment to the civilian communities. So we teach classes, everything from the hospital staff to community classes, really emphasizing the importance of early CPR and early defibrillation within the community. You know, making it a more friendly or welcoming environment to let people know that it’s not really a hard or difficult task to perform CPR. It’s not hard to learn that we want to stress the importance of getting involved in performing something and taking action in that early situation where something might deteriorate into a full cardiac arrest.
John (01:00):
Good question. So cardiac arrest is described as when a person’s heart stops. There’s no breathing, there’s no circulation, there’s no perfusion to the brain or heart, and the vital organs begin to die. And with the immediate actions of early CPR calling nine one one and early defibrillation can truly make the difference in someone’s life. Anyone who is alive can go into cardiac arrest from the youth to the elderly to the middle age class. At any given moment, anyone’s heart can suddenly stop. You’re not always going to be able to save someone during a cardiac arrest, but your early actions and interventions can give them that chance of opportunity to survive. The most important thing to do is to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms. Recognize that someone might be having a heart attack or going into cardiac arrest at any age. Knowing those specific signs and symptoms, how they would present and what to do when those symptoms present can be the most important thing for us to do to help them.
John (01:58):
By phoning nine 11 starting CPR, getting into AED, using the AED time is of the essence. After four to six minutes without any oxygen, the brain begins to die, so your early interventions and acting quickly can give this person the best chance of survival, more education and public education awareness. We all think that this can only happen to us as we get older, but making the community more aware that this can happen at any age. Bringing this information out there to them, letting them know that it’s not a scary event to, to learn the steps of CPR even know what to do or how to respond to an emergency. So making them more comfortable in that environment, knowing what to do to respond in the event of something like a cardiac arrest, you know, being aware what cardiac arrest is and how important your early interventions would be, could be and will be in making the difference in saving someone’s life is very, very important.
John (02:54):
I think today’s AED is a great device to have. I think we are lacking in the community aspect, meaning more affordable and getting more AEDs out there in the communities and making them more accessible and really educating the community about these devices, where they are, how they work, how easy it is to use. I think more education, more community involvement, um, and getting products out there like early defibrillation. AEDs in the communities or AEDs in your homes. I mean, the more accessible these machines are out there in the public communities, the more we have that chance to save somebody’s life.
