The first step to the chain of survival: the importance of learning CPR

Whether you are a parent, grandparent or babysitter, taking a CPR class should be at the top of your priority list, says East Moriches EMT Critical Care Provider Kerrie Franceschini.

“You can make all the difference if you know CPR. You are the first step to the chain of survival,” said Franceschini, who teaches a variety of CPR and first aid classes at Peconic Pediatrics in Riverhead.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, more commonly known as CPR, is an emergency procedure that can manually keep oxygenated blood moving towards the brain until normal heart rhythm can be restored.

Franceschini, who is a mother herself, started teaching CPR at Peconic Pediatrics in January 2013 in an effort to provide a service to the community and save lives. Since then, she said, she has received countless letters of thanks from parents who have taken her class. Among them a mom who said she used what she learned at one of Peconic Pediatric’s Friends and Family CPR classes to save her own child’s life.

Knowing how to recognize an emergency situation and react calmly is key, and makes parents less afraid to perform CPR on their children. The same is true for babysitters, who Franceschini said should all know CPR. Parents should think twice about leaving their child home with a babysitter who isn’t trained in CPR, she said.

“The knowledge you learn from a two-hour CPR class is simply priceless,” said Franceschini.

If it was up to Franceschini, a certified American Heart Association instructor who teaches on a volunteer basis, everyone would learn CPR, starting in high school. As an EMT, she has witnessed too many situations where a person brought to the emergency room would have been better off had someone known CPR.

“Even if they just do chest compressions, it’s better than nothing,” she said.

During Franceschini’s Friends and Family CPR class participants learn to perform CPR on an infant and a child using a mannequin known as Annie.

“The doll is life-size, so when people learn CPR on it, it becomes more real to them,” she said.

Aside from learning the ABC’s of CPR, Franceschini’s students are also instructed in how to prevent choking and what is safe for children to eat. The number one rule she tells her students: if food is bigger than your pinkie, you don’t let an infant have it. Students also learn basic first aid, from a loose tooth to what the different types of bleeding are and how to stop a bleed.

Aside from teaching the Family and Friends CPR class, Franceschini also teaches Heart Saver Courses for Girl Scout and Boy Scout leaders, child caregivers and anyone who wants to become CPR certified. The Heart Saver classes are also taught in combinations for adult and children CPR or infants and children CPR.

Franceschini said she will teach CPR to any individual, group of moms, or organization at pretty much any location.

Other classes available at Peconic Pediatrics include ones for expecting parents, prenatal care and breastfeeding. In the past, the pediatric office has offered classes in nutrition, speech and infant/toddler music.

Alison Manuel, office manager for Peconic Pediatrics, which is a division of Allied Pediatric of New York, said the office is also considering offering a babysitting class and a car seat safety class.

Upcoming CPR Classes at Peconic Pediatrics:
September 13, 9:00 a.m.: CPR Class for Friends & Family
September 13, 12:00 p.m.: CPR Class for Certification
October 11, 9:00 a.m.: CPR Class for Friends & Family
October 11, 12:00 p.m.: CPR Class for Certification
November 8, 9:00 a.m.: CPR Class for Friends & Family
November 8, 12:00 p.m.: CPR Class for Certification
December 13, 9:00 a.m.: CPR Class for Friends & Family
December 13, 12:00 p.m.: CPR Class for Certification
January 10, 9:00 a.m.: CPR Class for Friends & Family
January 10, 12:00 p.m.: CPR Class for Certification
February 14, 9:00 a.m.: CPR Class for Friends & Family
February 14, 12:00 p.m.: CPR Class for Certification