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Southwest Health System ambulance crews held a \u201cflash mob\u201d event Thursday at the Cortez City Market as part of EMS Week.<\/p>\n
A crew of emergency medical technicians rushed in and set up medical equipment and dummies on the floor next to the registers to show people how they react to someone suffering from a heart attack.<\/p>\n
Tips on CPR chest compressions also were demonstrated.<\/p>\n
\u201cSouthwest ambulance services bring the ER to your front door, or wherever there is an medical emergency like a market,\u201d an EMT told a curious group of shoppers.<\/p>\n
EMTs tend to victims using advanced CPR, artificial respirators, defibrillator, cardiac monitors and drugs, he said.<\/p>\n
But you don\u2019t need to be CPR-certified to help someone having a heart attack. Simple hard and fast chest compressions can save a life, said Southwest EMT Miranda Ludington.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important to get that message out to the community,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Every year, 350,000 people suffer cardiac arrest in the U.S., but less than half get the CPR assistance they need because bystanders don\u2019t respond.<\/p>\n
Seventy percent of cardiac arrests happen in the home, and even then people close to the victim do not respond enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou won\u2019t hurt anything; you will help,\u201d said EMT Ashley Lingo.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had better outcomes when people jump in and at least do the chest compressions.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the flash mob, EMTs showed volunteers, including a City Market employee and two kids, how to do the chest compressions on CPR dummies.<\/p>\n