Providence, AMR, Gonzaga Collaborate For Community Wide CPR Trai - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Providence, AMR, Gonzaga Collaborate For Community Wide CPR Training

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OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE FROM PROVIDENCE CARE PUBLIC RELATIONS: Sudden cardiac arrest claims the lives of more than 350,000 people in the U.S. each year. Over 80 percent of those deaths occur at home. 

In recent years, the national guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have changed, eliminating the requirement that mouth-to-mouth be performed in addition to chest compressions. 

In 2012, Providence cardiologist Andrew Boulet, MD, used the hands-only version of the "new" CPR to revive his wife, nephrologist Katherine Tuttle, MD. On the morning of Dr. Tuttle's collapse, Dr. Boulet did CPR on his wife for 20 minutes while waiting for paramedics to meet him near their home outside Spokane. 

"I knew the CPR guidelines had changed, and I was thinking that they better be right!" Dr. Boulet shared in a story about his wife's experience. Thanks to his persistent efforts to deliver the compressions until paramedics arrived with the defibrillator to shock her, Dr. Tuttle not only survived her cardiac arrest, but experienced a complete recovery.

"We want to ensure that every potential cardiac arrest victim gets the same immediate response that Dr. Tuttle received," says Braden Batkoff, MD, of the Providence Spokane Heart Institute. "That's why Providence is proud to partner with AMR and the Heart Rescue Project, along with Gonzaga University, to offer FREE CPR training to the public.  You never know when a loved one or friend—or a complete stranger—may need that life-saving act." 

On Saturday, February 9, Providence and AMR experts will conduct 30-minute training sessions from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Gonzaga University's Cataldo Hall (429 E. Boone).   Participants will watch a short video and see a demonstration, then practice the hands-only CPR technique.

Regarding her husband's prompt CPR, Dr. Tuttle says, "It's great that he's a cardiologist, but anyone can learn CPR and basic life support. You don't have to be a doctor to save someone's life."

To register for the FREE hands-only CPR training, visit www.phc.org. 

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