LIHU‘E — The biggest difference between a human and a dog is there is no 9-1-1, said Pam Foster, cardiopulmonary resuscitation trainer for the American Heart Association. Keoki, a canine mannequin used to teach CPR for dogs, was introduced during
LIHU‘E — The biggest difference between a human and a dog is there is no 9-1-1, said Pam Foster, cardiopulmonary resuscitation trainer for the American Heart Association.
Keoki, a canine mannequin used to teach CPR for dogs, was introduced during the free CPR Training and Mini Health Fair on Saturday, hosted by McDonald’s of Kaua‘i and Kukui Grove Center.
The name for the mannequin was solicited from shoppers and participants of the event which had several facets to it, the winner being handed an iPod for naming the latest addition to the army of mannequins used for CPR training.
“You cannot call 9-1-1 when a dog needs CPR,” Foster said. “So, you need to be sure you know of a 24-hour veterinarian who can take over.”
Foster said a dog’s heart is located on its left side so one of the steps toward performing CPR on a dog is to move the front paw and elbow out of the way to provide space where CPR, using a method similar to performing CPR on an infant, can be performed.
A Kaua‘i Fire Department inspector who was helping at the event said a few years ago, one of the KFD fire fighters performed CPR on a dog during a response and saved the dog’s life.
Jonell Kaohelauli‘i, the marketing director for Kukui Grove Center, said the event was arranged through the efforts of Ruth Johnson of McDonald’s Restaurants.
“McDonald’s Restaurants purchased defribillators for all of its restaurants and Ruth’s goal to is get all of the managers trained in the use of the AEDs, another term for external defribillators,” Kaohelauli‘i said. “She felt the public could benefit from this training effort by being included.”
Among the different methods of CPR procedures, people could have hands-on training on infants and adults using the appropriate-sized mannequins.
This was the introduction to familiarizing people with the AEDs, one of which is located on one of the pillars in the food court area of the mall.
Others are located at the Lihu‘e Airport and other public places on the island.
This aspect brought forward volunteers from the Kaua‘i Fire Department, American Medical Response, the Kaua‘i Ocean Safety Bureau and the Lihu‘e Airport Crash Fire and Rescue personnel, the majority of whom received training from Foster in the use of AEDs.
The celebration of 50 years of CPR by the American Heart Association was joined by several other community groups linking their respective causes to healthy hearts.
Valerie Saiki of the Kaua‘i chapter of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai‘i had a variety of exhibits including several containers showing the effects of tobacco and the environment.
Saiki said in the past, the group has done pick up of cigarette butts at Lydgate Park and on May 7, they will be conducting a similar cleanup of the Po‘ipu Beach Park.
Quit smoking is one of the first recommendations physicians make to patients looking to prevent coronary heart disease, states the Encyclopedia Britannica website.
Visit www.heart.org for more information.
• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.