CAY HILL, Sint Maarten – With children under their care for hours a day, faculty and staff of the Learning Unlimited Preparatory School (LUPS) do their utmost to be prepared for any eventuality. In preparation for the new school year which begins on Monday, August 19, faculty and staff refreshed their CPR skills. Most of the staff had done a CPR course before, but prudency dictates refresher courses are important when it comes to life saving skills.
Focus was mainly on CPR or Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation – a combination of chest compressions and rescue breaths. We started off with Scene Assessment and the use of barriers – in other words, how to make sure that as an Emergency Responder they don’t take risks that could harm themselves. How to spot the signs of cardiac arrest and the Cycle of Care were important steps that was tackled using manikins complete with CPR monitoring.
The group practiced CPR as a single Emergency Responder, but also in teams of two. They also discussed using an AED or Automated External Defibrillator. While CPR is important, the AED is the life saving device that makes it possible to bring an erratically beating heart back to a normal heart rhythm.
On request the staff also discussed another life threatening emergency: Airway Obstruction, a situation many probably recognize but not always know exactly how to deal with. A demonstration was given how to help someone that suffers from a complete airway obstruction.
LUPS is ready for the start of a new academic year and now also ready for medical emergencies.
