New Hanover Regional Medical Center’s Emergency Medical Services recently kicked off a new cardiopulmonary resuscitation initiative to train New Hanover County residents on a new “hands-only” CPR technique that is quicker to learn and easier to do than the conventional method. 

Sudden cardiac arrest claims an estimated 350,000 lives each year.  Many victims have no history of heart disease and no prior symptoms. Most people know to call 911 if they see someone collapse, but many don’t know that a simple action can save a person’s life, hospital officials said.

Effective bystander CPR can improve a person’s chance of survival by keeping the blood circulating to the brain, heart and other vital organs.

Conventional CPR includes mouth-to-mouth breathing and takes hours of training to learn. Hands-only CPR is done without the mouth-to-mouth breathing. The bystander “simply does chest compressions in the center of the victim’s chest,” hospital officials said.

By doing the compressions hard, fast and continuously until paramedics arrive, the bystander can keep blood flowing to the brain, giving the victim a better chance for survival, hospital officials said.

“Most bystanders are worried they might do something wrong or make the situation worse by attempting CPR. But taking action can only help,” Rick O’Donnell, chief of NHRMC EMS, said in a news release. 

Earlier this month, as part of National CPR & AED Awareness Week, NHRMC EMS paramedics recently offered free hands-only CPR lessons at locations throughout New Hanover County to educate more residents on the important role bystanders play in saving a cardiac arrest victim’s life.

Lessons take about 10-15 minutes.

For more information, including a complete list of locations where the public can learn hands-only CPR, go to www.nhrmc.org/cpr.

NHRMC also is helping build a database of AED/defibrillator locations in public buildings. With this information, 911 operators can help callers find the nearest AED so it can be used before paramedics arrive.
 
Hospital spokeswoman Erin Balzotti asked that people email [email protected] if there is an AED located in their building.

NHRMC employees donate to hospital special projects
NHRMC employees recently donated more than $146,000 from their paychecks to support special hospital projects that benefit patients and employees in need.

“The overwhelming success of this year's campaign and the personal investment of NHRMC employees underscores the ownership and dedication of the team here,” Aline Lasseter, vice president of development and executive director of the NHRMC Foundation, said in a news release. “Our employees are very compassionate, generous people who want to do everything they can to help our patients and each other.”
 
The employee campaign gives NHRMC and Pender Memorial Hospital employees an opportunity to donate to the general fund or to a particular area of the hospital, including nursing education or the Employee Benevolent Fund, which assists employees facing a financial crisis or hardship.

Urgent Care Association awareness campaign underway
The Urgent Care Association of America recently announced the launch of a yearlong campaign designed to raise the national consciousness about urgent care.

The association serves an international field, joining together the nearly 9,000 urgent care centers in the industry, including those in Southeastern North Carolina.

The group encourages all centers, insurance companies, legislators, employers, vendors and other industry supporters to get involved, spokeswoman Laura Gaskill said in a news release.
 
“The free, turnkey campaign materials are available to anyone interested in promoting lower cost, quality healthcare,” Gaskill said. “Despite the fact that urgent care centers have been open in the U.S. for over 30 years and see between 71 and 160 million patient visits per year, many people still don’t know what urgent care is – and that it even exists.”

Urgent care centers provide immediate care for acute, non-life threatening illness and injury and are critical component of any community’s health system.
 
“Use of urgent care centers can improve access, save money, connect patients with a primary care physician, improve satisfaction, and get people well quicker and easier – if people know about them,” Gaskill said.
 
The campaign covers basic facts about urgent care – including the fact that urgent care is a walk-in service requiring no appointment – and describes some of the common ailments that can be treated.
 
A series of quarterly, seasonally themed messages and graphics connected to the campaign are highly customizable and available for free, Gaskill said.
 
To access campaign materials and participate, go to www.ucaoa.org/rhyme.