Dane County to Offer Countywide Training Day for Public to Learn New Life-Saving Technique

May 22, 2008
Joshua Wescott, Office of the County Executive (608) 267-8823 or cell (608) 669-5606
County Executive

Emergency Responders Trained, Now Citizens Urged to “Call and Pump” (Fitchburg)….Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk said today she hopes hundreds of residents will take advantage of a countywide training day to learn a cutting edge medical technique that’s been proven to save lives. Dane County is one of only a handful of places across the country where emergency responders are doing CCR, or cardio cerebral resuscitation, in the place of CPR. Public training of CCR will be offered at Emergency Medical Service stations throughout Dane County on Saturday, June 7th. “Our EMTs and firefighters have done CCR with great success. Now we want to train as many people as we can on this easy to learn life-saving skill,” Falk said. Falk was joined at a news conference today by Dane County Medical Director Dr. Paul Stiegler and Dr. Stacey Bean, the widow of Dr. Darren Bean, a leading advocate for CCR. Dr. Darren Bean, nurse Mark Coyne and pilot Steve Lipperer died May 10th when their UW Medflight helicopter tragically crashed near La Crosse. “Dr. Darren Bean initiated and was set to incorporate CCR into the whole EMS community. Now, with his loss, more than ever we need to help everyone learn this simple life-giving technique,” Stiegler said. “CCR is a simple compression-only technique used to keep the blood flowing to the heart and the brain giving cardiac arrest victims the best chance of survival to a useful life,” he added. While traditional CPR included both pumping a person’s chest and blowing air into their mouth, CCR is comprised of chest compressions at a rate of 100 beats per minute. “Dr. Bean envisioned a day when CCR would be the new norm in emergency medical care everywhere. Helping to train as many people as we can is just one of the many ways we can all make sure his countless contributions and legacy live on,” Falk said. Both the American Red Cross and American Heart Association are planning CCR training sessions. More information on CCR can be found at: www.callandpump.org