It is very important for the general public to understand the importance of knowing how to perform CPR, because it very well may save one of their loved one's lives. Being a health-care professional, specifically working in the critical care area, I may use this and more advanced skills on a weekly if not daily basis to save a patient's life. Unfortunately, there have been several studies by different organizations including, but not limited to , the American Heart Association that have discovered that the typical American does not know how to perform basic life support (BLS)/(CPR). Their studies have indicated that if this basic skill would have been initiated "correctly" in a timely manner up until the emergency medical service's personnel arrived on the scene, the victims chance of survival without harmful or life-altering injury would increase markedly.
Some patrons are aware that society has become law-suit "happy" and just wait until the paramedics arrive because they are wary of possibly putting themselves at risk for some type of liability. Fortunately, many states have laws called the "Good Samaritan Laws", they were established to protect people that act in good faith to help a person in an emergency. With all of that being said, it is imperative that the general public not only become informed but trained on how to perform cpr, first aid, and the Heimlich maneuver. These are basic but important life saving skills that may absolutely come in handy given the fact that our population is living longer and getting older, dramatic increases in heart disease and obesity, just to name a few.
There is a wealth of information available for the public to become more informed and competent in these basic skills. By the way, this is the Internet age, any and everything can be found on the web, this includes training sites, tutorials and general information. Their is only so much health-care professionals can do when they arrive on the scene or when they receive the victim. It would be a great help if a victim had started receiving cpr or first aid before the health-care professional received the victim, their increase in survival without sustaining life-altering injuries would increase dramatically and I am more than sure the victim would appreciate that someone cared enough to try to help them, too!
