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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 2009)
OCT. 16, 2009:NWLP 10/13/09 10:21 AM Page 9 ...Retired Painters rep Kirkpatrick performs lifesaving CPR (From Page 1) The AutoPulse, with its delivery of uninterrupted, high-quality chest com- pressions, substituted for Anglin’s heart and kept the blood and oxygen circulat- ing to his vital organs. Estacada Fire Department Engineer Tim Corner told the Labor Press that the treatment applied to Anglin that after- noon took all five emergency respon- ders (three from the Fire Department, and two from AMR). “The AutoPulse freed us to perform those other life-sav- ing tasks,” he said. Corner noted that the fire department had just acquired AutoPulse in mid-July and Anglin was its first patient. Back at his home in Estacada, An- glin expressed gratitude to Kirkpatrick, the fire department, AMR paramedics, and the nurses and doctors who treated him. All of the workers have union af- filiations. Firefighters are members of Clackamas Fire Fighters Local 1159; emergency medical technicians at AMR are Teamsters, and nurses are members of Oregon Federation of Nurses and Health Care Professionals Local 5017 at Kaiser Sunnyside and the Oregon Nurses Association at Providence. Anglin reiterated that all emergency rescuers should have access to the Au- toPulse, and that everyone should learn how to administer CPR. Most union training centers require apprentices to complete CPR training, and classes are always available to jour- neymen and women. In addition to CPR train- ing, Plumbers and Fitters Lo- cal 290 (An- glin’s union) promotes the use of Auto- mated External Defibrillators (AEDs). “AEDs tell you exactly what to do. Anyone can use one,” said John Endicott, business manager of Local 290. The lunch-box-size devices are at the union’s training centers in Tualatin and Springfield. Endicott said over the past 10 years AEDs, which cost about $1,500, have become more commonplace at schools, office buildings, airports and other pub- lic places. In a recent article published in the Columbian newspaper in Vancouver, Oregon Health & Science University Dr. Mohamud Daya said someday AEDs “will probably become like fire extinguishers.” The AutoPulse sells for about $15,000 a unit and is to be used only by trained medical personnel. “The Auto- Pulse is picking up speed, but it’s not common yet,” Trickey said. John Phelps, a sales rep for Au- toPulse manufac- turer Zoll Medical Corporation, said 28 devices are in use by emergency medical service responders and hospi- tals in Oregon, 16 in Washington, and only 3,100 nationwide. The AutoPulse can be found in Her- miston, Pendleton, Springfield, Eugene, and along the Central Oregon Coast. “Sandy and Estacada fire depart- ments were the first to get them in the Portland area,” Phelps told the Labor Press. Sandy firefighters also saved a per- ‘...it’s important that you get involved if you see someone collapse and stop breathing.’ son’s life using the AutoPulse. Kirkpatrick and other firefighters agree that it’s important to know CPR and to have access to AEDs and the Au- toPulse, but he says it’s “also important that you get involved if you see some- one collapse and stop breathing.” Kirkpatrick pointed to studies that show only 20 to 30 percent of by- standers perform CPR when someone needs it. Researchers have found that in many cases the reason people didn’t help was because they were reluctant to put their mouth on someone else’s. More recent studies, however, show that compression-only CPR is just as ef- fective as traditional CPR, which in- volves both compressions and mouth- to-mouth resuscitation. “We are dealing with an aging work- force and a lot of unhealthy lifestyles, — smoking, high fat and salt diets,” Q Corner said. “Add to that strenuous work like construction and that’s a bad recipe.” Anglin admits that he did all the wrong things by smoking, eating high calorie foods, and not exercising, other than the physical demands of his job. “I thought I was immune. I was in total denial,” he said. More than a month after the episode, Anglin has a defibrillator implanted in his chest. He’s quit smoking, eliminated all salt from his diet, and he takes statins for high cholesterol. “I know it’s hard advice to hear, but cut back on salt and give up cigarettes,” Anglin tells his union brothers and sis- ters. “You’ll be better off when you re- tire. Look at me. I can’t hunt or fish by myself anymore. I thought I was inde- structible. I’m not. You’re not. 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