Emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics, and other skilled bystanders can perform BLS outside of hospitals. BLS classes are commonly taken by paramedics, nurses, doctors, physicians, EMTs, first responders, public safety workers, and other healthcare-related occupations since they require additional skills on a daily basis.
Deputy Sheriff Jason Roy patrolled the outer perimeter of the Berkshire County Jail in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on a Friday afternoon, only an hour or two before he'd clock out for the weekend.
Then came the specifics: a single vehicle collision. Airbags were activated. Unconscious controller.
Jason went in that area right away, trying to help in any way he could while the fire department, EMTs, and police worked the incident. However, when he arrived, he discovered three bystanders yanking a man from a car. He was awake but not breathing. As bystanders rolled the man on his side in the recovery position, Jason put his car into park.
Everything changed after that.
Bystanders yelled, "He's not breathing anymore!"
Knowing that an AED was on its way, they flipped the man onto his back and ripped up his shirt.
"This is the first time I've ever had to perform CPR in a situation like this." "This is my first time," he declares. What matters, though, is what he has accomplished. "I've had CPR training for 21 years."
When the fire department and EMTs arrive, they use the AED to give shocks.
They obtained the finest possible result at that moment. Jason swiftly poked his head in and asked an EMT, "Is he breathing?" as they carried the man onto the ambulance. He was breathing and had a pulse, according to the EMT. They left for the hospital right away.
"Wow, thanks to your officer's quick response, those early compressions and CPR, that man is breathing right now," the Fire Chief told the Sheriff. We got him back because of that."
Congratulations flowed in over the next few days, some from employees and colleagues who had heard the radio call live. "Your attentiveness, situational awareness, and devotion to your training certainly saved the life of this man," according to an official Commendation from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Berkshire County Sheriff's Office.