Charleston County to learn hands-only CPR at James Island Emergency

Charleston County adults will receive a life-saving lesson on Saturday about the importance of CPR and how it can save loved ones’ lives. James Island Emergency will invite Charleston County Emergency Management Services to share the hands-only CPR technique with Charleston County adults at the emergency center building from 10 a.m. to noon. More than 300,000 people experience sudden cardiac arrest each year in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These cardiac arrests happen outside of the hospital and instead in homes, work or the community. On average, 60 to 80 percent of those cases die before arriving at the hospital. James Island Emergency and Charleston County EMS aim to teach the hands-only CPR technique to as many people as possible at the 945 Folly Road location in Charleston. The goal is to prepare the community for sudden emergencies that can happen to anyone, regardless of age. The hands-only CPR technique is a non-mouth-to-mouth contact rescue method that focuses on compression of the body using the strength of the palm. Users lay one hand over the other and press down on the sudden cardiac arrest victim’s chest. The method is used to push oxygenated blood throughout the body and can “double or triple survival chances” the American Heart Association says. Hands-only CPR does not require a certification to be practiced at the time of an event. In this case, technique users must act while medical professionals are en route.

Carl Fehr, division chief of Charleston County EMS, says people must know how to give hands-only CPR in times of need. “You being able to provide those actions to try to give them the best of being able to survive as possible is huge,” Fehr says. “It’s kind of like in baseball, if you know it’s a fastball or a curve ball coming at you, you have a much better chance at hitting the ball. If you know a little bit about what you need to do to try to save somebody’s life, you’ll be better prepared to jump into immediate action and be able to help take care of them.” The hands-only CPR event is free to those interested in attending. Guests can register on the Trident Health System website before arriving.