DETROIT – If your heart stops beating, having someone ready to do hands-only CPR -- and quick access to an AED -- dramatically boosts your odds of survival.
But it’s truly a team effort said Detroit Fire Chief James Harris.
“People like to call us and EMS and police officers as first responders. But in all actuality, a lot of times, the citizen is the first responder because they’re on the scene first,” explained Harris.
He knows the idea of performing CPR on a loved one, or a stranger, can be intimidating.
“We’ve seen cases where a person was right there, and they were intimidated. They didn’t try, they didn’t attempt. And you never know, that split second, that knowledge you have, can save a life,” said Harris.
Detroit has set a goal of becoming a designated Heart Safe Community. One critical component of meeting that goal is teaching more citizens how to perform hands-only CPR and how to use an AED.
Classes in hands-only CPR and AED use are already making people more willing to act.
Local 4 attended such a class at the City of Detroit’s Department of Elections, where Lieutenant Caitlin Mercer from the Detroit Fire Department taught the steps and helped everyone practice.
“That’s our main goal is to just make people know that it’s easy, and something so easy can have a huge impact and a better outcome for everybody,” said Mercer.
Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey was among those practicing her skills.
“I’m not in the medical field at all, never have been, but this is easy to do. It’s easy. It’s simple, and for the most part, it kind of comes naturally, but you just fine tune it, so you get it right,” said Winfrey.
Winfrey wants her department to be ready if any employees or visitors suffer a cardiac arrest.
“I just think good health is important period,” said Winfrey. “We need to be there for each other, and we need to know what to do in case of an emergency.”
Participant Rosalind Kimbrough appreciated the opportunity to learn.
“I just went through my first training, and I just gotta say - mind blowing - because you just didn’t know. I know that a lot has changed now, no more mouth-to-mouth, they’ve made it a little bit user-friendly so to speak.”
She’s also excited to share the knowledge with others.
Related: CPR training resource guide: Why it’s important, how it works, how to get trained
“I’m gonna advocate to everyone I know and teach them what I’ve learned, because if they don’t have this available to them at their jobs or wherever,” said Kimbrough. “Everybody needs to be mindful about what to do in an emergency, and I don’t think people are thinking about that. It’s not top-of-mind. So it’s important to share that information.”
That’s music to the ears of Detroit Fire Captain Jeff Forbes.
“This is the chain of survival for saving someone’s life. Doing CPR. Getting hands on someone’s chest when they do go into cardiac arrest. Don’t be afraid to do CPR. You are the true first responders in this,” said Forbes.
Forbes is also focused on mapping all of the available AEDs in the city by encouraging the public to register them through the PulsePoint app.
Read: Detroit’s life-saving push for more defibrillators
“This AED registry will actually map back to our dispatch center, so if you’re in cardiac arrest in a building, they can say, ‘Hey there’s an AED on the fourth floor, have somebody go get it,’” explained Forbes.
They’re also working to get more AEDs where they’re needed.
And when they arrive on a scene and find someone is already performing CPR --
“It’s incredible. It actually gives me chills and goosebumps when they’re doing CPR. We step in, I hook them to the cardiac monitor, maybe do a little bit of CPR, give ‘em some medicine and then the person starts breathing on their own. It’s an incredible feeling,” said Forbes.
“The more citizens, the more people in the city of Detroit and our visitors that know hands-only CPR, the better off we’ll be,” said Harris.
Putting the power quite literally into the hands of the people.
“You wanna do the right thing, and you know, you wanna do it fast and correctly,” said Kimbrough. “Now I feel a little more at ease that I know what I’m doing. I’m gonna be able to save somebody’s life, and that’s pretty cool.”
As part of Local 4′s Go 4 It community campaign, we’ve partnered with the City of Detroit for a day of free hands-only CPR training, open to anyone who wants to learn. You can find more information on the free event here.