I just love it when things work out (from NPS Morning Report):


Friday, August 02, 2013


INCIDENTS

Mesa Verde National Park (CO)
Heart Attack Victim Saved Through Prompt Intervention

On Saturday, July 27th, park staff responded to a report of a 71-year-old man who had collapsed in the Cliff Palace parking lot. Two teenage visitors who happen to be lifeguards with CPR training immediately began to administer effective CPR.

A park medic and rangers arrived on the scene eight minutes after the call was received and took over patient care. Rangers used an AED and delivered four shocks. The park medic was also able to administer medications to the patient via an intraosseus infusion (IO). After they worked on the man for 10 minutes, his pulse returned and he was able to breathe on his own.

The man was transported to an ICU via helicopter by Tri-State Care Flight personnel out of Mercy Regional Medical Center in Durango, Colorado.

The attending flight nurse later contacted park staff and congratulated them for doing a “fabulous job” in handling the incident. A successful chain of survival requires early and effective CPR, early AED use, and quick transport to definitive medical care. In this situation every step in the chain was met and the ultimate outcome was very good. The park is planning to recognize the young visitors who stepped in immediately and put their lifeguard CPR training to excellent use.

According to the Tri-State flight medic, the actions taken by park staff definitely saved the man’s life.

Good news!

Nice! It's an excellent park, we visited there (and parked in that lot) two years ago.

It seems to me that the key point in these situations is the early availability of some kind of defibrillator.

Without one, your chances of survival in such a situation are pretty dismal. With one, they are pretty good.

Wow, a textbook example of a CPR save! Nice job!

One thing I was curious about that is not mentioned is what kind of CPR the the two teenagers used. Are lifeguards still taught traditional CPR with rescue breaths? Are they also taught two-person CPR?

I ask because the article says it took eight minutes before the park medic arrived on scene. If I recall correctly, compression-only CPR is effective without rescue breaths because the bloodstream normally contains enough dissolved oxygen for about four minutes of CPR.

The incident sounds like a textbook scenario for when compression-only CPR is appropriate--an adult who is observed collapsing and where CPR is started quickly.

"It seems to me that the key point in these situations is the early availability of some kind of defibrillator."

they're installed everywhere. any large pine tree should have one. Hahahahaha!

seriously - great effort by the teenagers out there. it's nice to see the young ones get current with that training.

Pete2