Community-minded businesses and organizations from the area are co-sponsoring three “Keep the Beat for the Bayou Region” bystander CPR training events free to the general public in March. An event will be held at the Cotillion Ballroom at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux on March 4 with sessions at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. There will be two additional events on March 11. The first will be at the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center with sessions at 8 a.m., 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. The second event will be held at the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium, with sessions at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.
“Keep the Beat” is a not-for-profit effort and is open to everyone 12 years and older. Certified CPR instructors will teach the sessions that will last approximately two hours each.
“Keep the Beat for the Bayou Region” is seeking to educate residents from Assumption, Lafourche, St. Mary and Terrebonne Parishes in basic life-saving techniques. These parishes lie in south Louisiana, an area with one the highest incidences of heart disease in the industrialized world, where sudden cardiac arrest is a frequent event and many in the area don’t know how to perform CPR.
“I believe this event should have a major impact on the survival of those patients who experience a sudden cardiac death,” said Dr. Peter Fail, Houma cardiologist and medical director of the Terrebonne Parish event. “Bystander CPR is the first and probably the most important link in the chain of survival.”
That chain of survival includes early contact with a 911 operator, the administration of CPR, defibrillation and advanced care for the patient.
To provide another link in this chain, “Keep the Beat” also sponsors a school competition and raises funds for the donation of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to be donated to the winning school. These portable, electronic, life-saving units are simple devices that give the user step-by-step verbal instructions. The combination of CPR and use of an AED greatly increases a victim’s chance for survival, because these steps can be taken prior to the arrival of a professional medical team.
Throughout the country, communities that offer free CPR training courses are experiencing strong turnouts for similar events. But more importantly, they are also finding the classes are yielding their intended goal: Attendees have gone on to use the knowledge they have gained to save lives. The use of effective bystander CPR nearly doubles a victim’s chance for surviving sudden cardiac arrest. To register for a free CPR class or volunteer, please call 1-877-288-0011. For more information, visit http://www.keepthebeat.net/.
This event has been made possible with the help of the following sponsors: American Heart Association, Cardiovascular Institute of the South, HTV 10, Sunburst Media—Louisiana, Terrebonne General Medical Center, Thibodaux Regional Medical Center, Charter Media, Lovecomm, Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, Acadian Ambulance, Abbott Laboratories, All Print Unlimited, All-Right Installations, Atchafalaya OB/Gyn, Bayou Catholic, Bayou Sign, Candy Fleet, City of Morgan City, Coastal Broadcasting of Larose (KLRZ), The Courier, Cristiano Ristorante, CV Therapeutics, Daily Comet, Daily Review, Elwood Stevens, Attorney-at-Law, Guidant, Hibernia Investment, Houma.com, Houma Reprographics & Map, KWBJ-TV Allen’s Cable, Major Equipment & Remediation, The Medicine Shop, Outback Steakhouse, Outside & In, Pinnacle Computer Services, St. Mary Parish Medical Society, Swiftships Shipbuilder, LLC, Teche Regional Medical Center, Taco Bell-Atchafalaya Health Club, Terrebonne Homecare and Tri-Parish Times.