The New York State Education Department requires that every licensed dentist and hygienist in the state be certified in Advanced Life Support techniques, including cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR. This requirement must be renewed every two years.
The dentists and clinical staff at Lancaster Dental Associates were re-certified by a CPR trainer in our office on April 14th. The review course followed the curriculum set by the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross.
After a heart attack or stroke, the most important factor in providing emergency life support is response time. In the case of a heart attack, it is critical to maintain circulation to the brain if the heart has stopped, or if a victim is not breathing. This can only be done by administering chest compressions and/or artificial respiration until professional responders such as Emergency Medical Technicians can come to the scene. Also, the signs of a person suffering a stroke must be recognized, and once again, time is critical in summoning professional help so that anti-clotting agents can be started and then treatment continued at a hospital.
In order to be re-certified in CPR, each participant had to pass a written exam that covered the situations discussed in the course, and then had to demonstrate clinical proficiency in rescue techniques on a resuscitation mannequin.
In the last several years, automatic external cardiac defibrillators have become available for use in public facilities such as airports or sports arenas in order to help restore normal cardiac rhythm after sudden cardiac arrest. We have purchased one of these units at Lancaster Dental Associates, and are trained in its use in case of an emergency.
