CPR Certification Renewal

Every two years dental professionals are required to be certified in CPR as part of their licensure renewal. This year Dr. Chan requested the American Heart Association’s Basic Life Support (BLS) course be taught on site in our office to all staff members to build consistency, coordination and teamwork. After passing our on-line coursework, Eric Colfer, HeartShare Instructor, observed us as we practiced CPR on AMA approved manikins in both adult and infant sizes with electronic feedback to ensure that we achieved the correct depth and rate of chest compressions for effective CPR.

Saving Lives

What Is CPR?
CPR is short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Everyday CPR saves lives and it can be learned by anybody.
In cases of drowning, choking, heart attack and other instances where a person’s blood supply to the brain is interrupted because of the inability to breathe or when the heart stops pumping every second counts and CPR can afford a person those seconds to keep permanent brain damage from setting in.

Why Would You Need To USE CPR In A Dental Setting??
Those who work in dental offices will rarely (if ever) have to deal with life-threatening emergencies. But sometimes, at-risk patients such as the elderly and those medically compromised will undergo procedures that will aggravate pre-existing conditions, or will have adverse reactions to anesthesia. Among the possible emergencies that a dental staff may encounter, sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the among the most likely to result in the death of a patient.

Treating sudden cardiac arrest will require a coordinated effort on the part of staff in order to effectively activate the “Chain of Survival” required to afford the victim the best chance of recovery. For the first responder, this will include rapid activation of EMS personnel, rapid defibrillation, and early application of effective CPR. These steps must be initiated as quickly as possible, and thus requires premium, frequent training for the entire office staff. This means keeping everyone up-to-date on their CPR certifications, and training the staff as a cohesive unit, rather than everyone learning separately.

What Is An AED?
AED stands for Automatic External Defibrillator, an electronic device used for monitoring abnormal heart rhythms or arrhythmias. It helps in checking heart activity and it can also be used as “defibrillator”.to help restore a normal heart rhythm.

Our office has an AED unit. Our wonderful staff keeps it charged in the event it is needed. Fortunately, throughout the years, we have never had to employ it.

We did it!