Talbot County CPR Marathon - Talbot DES to provide free CPR and AED Training by Talbot County Emergency Services (DES) on Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 2:20pm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT: Date: 2/9/2012                                                             Brian Lecates, 410-770-8143

In recognition of the American Heart Association’s “National Heart Month” Talbot County Emergency Services will be offering free CPR and AED training to the public on February 29, 2012, at the Talbot County Community Center in Easton, Maryland. The CPR classes will begin every two hours beginning at 9:00 am with the last class beginning at 7:00 pm. Classes are approximately one and a half hours in length.

Heart disease kills an estimated 630,000 Americans each year. It’s the leading cause of death for both men and women. A lethal complication that can develop while having a heart attack is Sudden Cardiac Arrest which is a leading cause of death, claiming nearly 300,000 lives each year. During a sudden cardiac arrest, heart function ceases – abruptly and without warning. When this occurs, the heart is no longer able to pump blood to the rest of the body, and in some 95 percent of victims, death occurs.

Once a cardiac arrest occurs, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillation is required within the first several minutes to restore electrical activity to the heart and revive the heart's pumping function. Availability of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) is critical for rapid response to cardiac arrest.

In 2001, Talbot County launched “Operation Save-a-Heart” in an effort to prepare the community to respond to Sudden Cardiac Arrests. It was through the efforts of the Talbot County Paramedic Foundation, Talbot Advanced Life Support, the Talbot County Council, and the businesses throughout the County that AED’s were strategically placed and CPR training provided.

Fast forward…There are now over 170 AED’s located throughout the County in businesses, schools, and in public buildings. Talbot County Emergency Services in a cooperative effort provides support to these AED sites through CPR and AED training. This places Talbot County in a better position to save lives, as evidenced August 18, 2009 when an employee at the Talbot County YMCA used an AED to successfully resuscitate a victim of Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

As a next step, Talbot County Emergency Services with the support of the Talbot County Paramedic Foundation, the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce, Chesapeake Publishing, WCEI/WINX Radio, and Shore Health System will be conducting the first of what are planned to be annual CPR Marathons. These training sessions will provide the public free bystander CPR training with a goal to train as many people as possible.

Mr. Clay Stamp, the Director of Emergency Services for Talbot County explains; “It is critically important in the case of sudden cardiac arrest to access the 9-1-1 system immediately… every minute counts”. He further explains; “The bottom line is the data is clear, by having a community trained in CPR with access to AEDs the survival rate for Sudden Cardiac Arrest improves significantly, and it is our goal to train as many in our community as we can.”