On Wednesday, July 17, 2013, Kenneth R. Brooks, Licensed Paramedic, presented an informative Continuing Education workshop entitled, “The Dysphagic and Respiratory Compromised, and CPR” in our Waltham office. Participation in this workshop qualified for 0.2 ASHA Continuing Education Units (CEU) credits.
The workshop started with an overview of recognizing a choking and respiration emergency, assessing the safety of the scene, legal implications of helping as a licensed health care professional, and recommendations for hygiene protocols and disease prevention when providing care.
Seconds, not Minutes, Saves Lives
A person will become unconscious after three minutes of not breathing. Waiting for the ambulance to arrive may be too late to help someone who is having serious respiratory conditions.
Respiratory problems may be caused by a heart attack, stroke, or choking. The workshop included a review of using an Automatic External Defibrillator, AED, which can shock the heart into pumping action thereby increasing survival from cardiac arrest by 30 percent.
Men and women often describe their heart and stroke symptoms very differently. To learn how to recognize symptoms of heart attacks, check resources on the Go Red for Women and American Heart Association websites.
Following the initial emergency, speech and physical therapy services often are engaged to provide rehabilitation to mitigate the after effects of a heart attack or a stroke when an individual sustains brain damage.
Practice Treatments for Adults, Children/Infants
Participants practiced single person hands-on CPR treatments for adults and children on training mannequins as well as practiced with a partner to learn techniques for working as a rescue team. Light indicators on the mannequins provided feedback to assess if sufficient chest pressure compressions was being delivered. The differences in treating infants was demonstrated and practiced again with infant mannequins. To find a CPR course near you, contact the American Heart Association.
See CPR infant training and adult chest compression videos posted on Facebook.
Participants had the opportunity to ask questions and share stories from their professional settings including schools and nursing homes, and individual home care.
Upcoming Workshops for Speech, Occupational and Physical Therapists
Upcoming CEU workshops including Executive Functioning (August 14, 2013), iPad Applications (September 18, 2013) and Voice Techniques (October 16, 2013). These CEUs are open to all our clinicians and health care professionals outside of our practice interested in CE credits. Communicative Health Care Associates is approved by the Continuing Education Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to provide continuing education activities.
For future continuing education professional workshops, check out our Classes and What’s New page on our website where we post registration information and details. If you would like to receive email updates for upcoming CEUs, please contact us with your email and/or mailing address.