Friday marks the end of National Emergency Medical Services Week. But it's just the beginning of the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps' registration drive for its final CPR training session of the spring.
The ambulance corps, which started providing free one-hour training sessions just a few months ago, has scheduled a final spring session for June 8 from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Wilton Library.
So far, 154 Wilton residents have been trained, and ambulance corps' leaders say they are hoping for another 30 at the June session.
"Our goal is to train as many people in Wilton as possible, and being National EMS Week is the perfect time for people to be thinking about learning this vital skill that saves lives," said Wilton EMT volunteer Kim Becker. "We know this simple technique can double or even triple a person's chance of surviving a cardiac event."
Becker said the sessions also teach people how to perform abdominal thrusts, also known as the Heimlich maneuver, to save people who are choking.
"People don't understand how these techniques can make the difference between life and death," Becker said. "But we have been greatly encouraged by the number of Wilton residents who have signed up for the sessions." She said she expects the training sessions to resume in the fall.
Chris Gardner, another EMT and member of the Wilton Volunteer Ambulance Corps, said, "There have been instances in Wilton, as everywhere, in which people were unable to do anything during a cardiac event, and that costs people their lives."
He said the American Heart Association estimates 300,000 to 400,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest. "If you don't know CPR, the person experiencing cardiac arrest has a far greater chance of dying."
The sessions are free, but registration is required and residents must be 18 or older to sign up.
You can sign up on the ambulance corps' website or call 203-762-9678.
Have you ever been in a situation where CPR saved a life? Leave a comment below.
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