Chamber now has an AED on site
Representatives from Scripps Health presented a workshop for Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce members that taught participants how to administer CPR, use Automated External Defibrillators (AED) and employ other methods of first aid in case of an emergency.


The course coincided with the installation of an AED device at the Chamber through San Diego Project Heartbeat, a program that seeks to grow the number of publicly-accessible defibrillation devices throughout the community as a means to save lives.


Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and the use of an AED has been shown to significantly improve the chances of survival. A shock administered within one minute raises the chance of survival to 90 percent, and for every minute that CPR is not administered, the chance of survival drops by 10 percent.


The AED currently installed at the Chamber comes thanks to the generosity of John Haedrich of Tip Top Meats, who paid for the device and other associated costs.


"We at the Chamber are very thankful that John has made this possible," said Toni Padron, the Chamber's executive vice president and COO.
"We offer professional development resources here at the Chamber daily, and thousands of people visit us during a year," she added. "It is very reassuring to know that we have this AED available to use in the case of an emergency."


Some members of the Chamber staff went through the CPR and AED training, and were certified to perform CPR and administer basic first aid by completing the American Heart Association's Heartsaver First Aid, CPR, AED classroom course.


"It's important for any company to know that they have people trained in first aid," said Mary Ehlers-Pearman, one of several employees from Chamber member Ortho Organizers, Inc. who took the course.


She noted that enough of the company's 250 employees took the training to allow someone with training to be in each of the company's two floors during its two working shifts.


Kerry Harmon, chief compliance officer and office manager with WWM Financial, said her company decided someone should take the course.
"We deal with a lot of clients and we would like to know that if something happens to them when they visit, someone can assist them," she said.


Les Martin, a trainer with Scripps Health who presented the course along with Lynda Stauderman and Linda C. Mullvain, said Scripps is always looking for community partners, particularly from the business community, where most people spend the majority of their days, where first aid training could be provided.


"The more people that know CPR, the better it is for everyone," Martin said."It means people have a better chance of surviving."

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