EMSA set out to teach hundreds of people compression-only CPR today, which is World CPR Day.
It was also the opening day of the Big XII FanFest, and EMSA was at Guthrie Green teaching anyone who would stop. Paramedic Hannah Sherlock said it only takes a couple minutes to learn, but it can make a big difference in emergencies.
"It keeps blood flowing through the body, which is going to the brain and keeping oxygen in the brain," Sherlock said. "So, it's causing less consequences for longer downtimes."
It’s as easy as check, call, compress.
"It takes five second to check for a pulse, about 30 seconds to call 911 — you or somebody around you can call 911 — and then the next step is just compressing their chest," Sherlock said. "You want to cup your hands over their chest, and you want to place your hands on the middle of their chest and just push on their sternum.
"You're going to hear bones breaking, and it's OK because having a broken rib is better than being dead."
There’s no mouth-to-mouth breathing required.
Paramedics were also at the LaFortune park baseball fields teaching people.
Last year, EMSA paramedics taught roughly 300 people in the Tulsa area compression-only CPR.
