By Steven Mayer
The Bakersfield Californian
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. 鈥� It was mid-morning Monday at the Ming Avenue branch of Valley Strong Credit Union in southwest Bakersfield.
As customers completed transactions with tellers, not far away, 18-year-old Areli Juarez could be seen performing CPR on a silent figure near the windows.
Of course, the silent figure was a CPR mannequin, all part of a concerted effort by the American Heart Association, Dignity Health and Valley Strong to expand CPR skills across the Bakersfield community.
鈥淚 came here to open a bank account for the first time,鈥� Juarez said. 鈥淏ut when I saw this, I was like, hmm, I wonder what they鈥檙e doing.
The young Del Oro High School grad is planning to attend Bakersfield College in August to study nursing.
鈥淭his is an important thing to do because it (cardiac arrest) could happen to anyone and you have got to be prepared, mentally prepared and physically prepared,鈥� she said.
The drop-in CPR information sessions and demonstrations were hosted at two Valley Strong branches Monday, the Ming Branch and the Panama Lane location.
鈥淭oday we鈥檙e here educating the community about handling CPR,鈥� said Memorial Hospital Stroke Coordinator Delia Soliz at the Ming branch.
鈥淚t鈥檚 imperative,鈥� she said, 鈥渢hat we get as many community members as possible educated and aware of what to do in an emergency, to save people鈥檚 lives.鈥�
Soliz said it鈥檚 unfortunate that many in the community are not prepared to act when someone collapses and is unresponsive, even when it鈥檚 someone they love.
You can鈥檛 always wait for an ambulance to arrive, she said.
鈥淭hat could be minutes, valuable minutes, that are lost.鈥�
Steve Matejka, chief operating officer and executive vice president of the credit union, said the importance of knowing CPR struck close to home in the Valley Strong family when the adult daughter of a colleague suddenly went into cardiac arrest during a family fishing trip.
In that critical instant, the employee鈥檚 son sprang into action, performing CPR and ultimately helping to save his sister鈥檚 life.
鈥淐PR isn鈥檛 just a skill, it鈥檚 a lifeline,鈥� Matejka said. 鈥淵ou may never have been in a situation where it was needed, but the reality is that most cardiac arrests happen at home, affecting the people closest to us. Knowing how to respond could mean saving the life of a loved one 鈥� a parent, a sibling, a friend.鈥�
Cardiac arrest is an electrical malfunction in the heart that stops the flow of blood to the brain, lungs and other vital organs.
According to the American Heart Association, more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year in the United States. For a person in cardiac arrest, survival depends on immediately receiving CPR.
Unfortunately, about 90% of people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests die, according to the Heart Association.
鈥淎 lot of people are afraid to take action if they don鈥檛 know what to do,鈥� said Jared Tharp, an RN and structural heart program coordinator at Dignity Health who was also part of the team at Valley Strong on Monday.
鈥淚f you think about it, it鈥檚 just two steps,鈥� Tharp said. 鈥淐all 911 and start compressions.鈥�
As customers came by to give it a try, Soliz taught them to interlock their hands and put them right on the hard bone, the breastbone.
It鈥檚 important to stay within 100 to 120 compressions per minute 鈥� which is faster than some might think 鈥� and many people find it鈥檚 helpful to match the compressions to the tempo of a song they鈥檙e familiar with, such as the 1970s disco classic 鈥淪tayin鈥� Alive,鈥� 鈥淐razy in Love鈥� by Beyonc茅, and many others.
Spotify has a user playlist featuring songs that have a beat in sync with the recommended CPR chest compression rate.
鈥淭he nice thing about this CPR that we鈥檙e spreading is that鈥檚 it鈥檚 called hands-only CPR, although some people refer to it as sidewalk CPR,鈥� said Valery Diaz, manager of the cardiac program at Dignity.
鈥淵ou call 911 and then you go straight to the victim and you check to see that they鈥檙e not awake, they鈥檙e not breathing,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou just put your hands on the center of their chest right on the breast bone, and you just start cooking.鈥�
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