On Wednesday nearly 1,500 St. Joseph County eighth graders will be bused to Mishawaka High School’s Steele Stadium. They’re going not for a football game, but to learn how to maybe save a life.
The survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest increased from 5% in 2017 to 11% last year.
Retired cardiologist Dr. Bill Sarnat credits portable defibrillators but also more people knowing CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Since 2017 he’s been working with the nonprofit enFocus to conduct an annual CPR mass training event for eighth grade students.
"So we decided to do eighth-graders because they were curious, they were confident and they were competent," Sarnat says.
They’ve done it in the outfield grass at Four Winds Field using the Jumbotron but post-season construction at the ballpark has instead led them to Steele Stadium.
Sarnat says it typically takes emergency responders six to eight minutes to reach a person in cardiac arrest after 911 has been called. What happens before their arrival is critical to survival.
”Mortality increases by 10% for every minute delayed in CPR so if no CPR has been started, then they’re already in a stage where it’s really hard to get them back.”
First call 911, then press on the person’s chest about twice per second until a professional arrives.
