First Aid and CPR training-an uplifting experience

Nov 24, 2011

Photo: Tony Polonio, ”The Training Medic” at Northern Connections in Sharbot Lake

Laughter erupted numerous times during a First Aid/CPR training session at Northern Connections in Sharbot Lake as Tony Polonio of Belleville, a.k.a. the Training Medic, got down on his hands and knees in order to show five trainees the in and outs of proper CPR.

Don't get him wrong: Tony takes his job very seriously but he also brings to his classes a sense of humour that keeps those who attend attentive and interested. Polonio, who also worked for years as a paramedic, is an emergency training specialist, an authorized provider of HeartSafe EMS, an approved First Aid Delivery Organization for the Ontario WSIB and the HRSDC-Labour Program for basic, standard and advanced First Aid. He holds a certificate in Adult Facilitation and has over 17 years of medical experience and training, including a Registered Practical Nursing diploma from Sir Sandford Fleming College and an Advanced Medical Care Attendant diploma from Centennial College.

Though the regular HeartSafe clientele list does not usually include the general public, Tony happens to be just one of four out of 400 nation-wide HeartSafe instructors who was granted permission to teach the general public under his own company name. Polonio teaches over 100 classes a year and is a pro. His jovial personality helps to make what might otherwise be a somber and dry information session into a rather uplifting hands-on experience.

On Nov. 18, five people took part in a one-day training session he offered at Northern Connections Adult Learning Centre, which covered all of the First Aid /CPR basics. In the first part of his class he covered the heart and stroke portion of the class, which included heart attack recognition, intervention, CPR (the newest standards), choking intervention for adults, children and infants, as well as stroke recognition and interventions. The afternoon was dedicated to the First Aid portion of his class, which included bleeds, fractures, bone and joint injuries, burns, seizures, diabetic emergencies, anaphylactic shock, asthma attacks and EPI pen administration.

The hands on segment of the course included recovery position practicing, abdominal thrust positioning (formerly known as the Heimlich maneuver), CPR compressions and breathing and as well as demonstrating how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). Tony’s goal is to “turn out confident, competent first aiders”. He knows first hand from working as a paramedic that “most of the time when we respond to a call, there is already someone on the scene.”

While he sets high standards in his own classes, he is also very aware of the overall poor showing by Canadians as trained first AID/CPR responders. “Unfortunately Canada is the worst country in the western world for the number of people trained in CPR and First Aid, with only 5-10% of the population trained. That pales in comparison to a country like Germany where in order to be granted a driver’s license and before you can purchase a car you must have CPR/First Aid training and where it is mandatory to have a First Aid kit in your vehicle.”

Asked about the bottom line when it comes to saving a life Tony mentioned the factor of time and spoke of the Chain of Survival. “We push the Chain of Survival in a big way in my class, which boils down to one word ‘Early’: Early 911, Early CPR, Early defibrillation and Early advanced medical care.”

He states a few stats to back that up. In the Province of Ontario someone who suffers SCA (sudden cardiac arrest) has a 3-5% chance of survival. In the City of Ottawa the rate is almost double that. In Ottawa, because of all the levels of government there, there is a higher concentration of people who are trained in First Aid/CPR; there is more access to defibrillators, advanced care paramedics and other reasons. According to Tony that rate jumps to 75% if you happen to experience a SCA in a Canadian casino. “It's because of the Early factor. In casinos you are monitored every single minute and chest compressions on average are started there in under one minute and defibrillation in under two minutes.”

When it comes to having the know how to potentially save a life it looks as though your best bets are 1) getting trained and 2) not hesitating to put what you know into practice.

For anyone who missed the course, St. Lawrence Employment Services will be holding a First Aid and CPR course on December 15 and 16