CPRMom

Guidelines 2010 will be released in just a few weeks! What are Guidelines 2010? They are changes in how we will perform and teach CPR. Twice a year the International Liason Committee on Resuscitation or ILCOR meets regularly to review scientific studies done on CPR. When there is enough information that suggest that changes should be made they release new guidelines on how we should perform CPR. October 18th is the date the new Guidelines will be released this year. What does this mean if you just took a CPR class? You are still certified in CPR If you have recently taken a class or are planning on taking one before October 18th. Despite releasing the new guidelines on that day, CPR instructors will not have the new training materials until next winter or spring at the earliest. However most of us will be incorporating the new guidelines into our classes until the training materials are available. How do you find out what the changes will be? You can visit this b...

I'll admit it. I'm a geek. Seriously. I belong to several multiple online groups, where I learn and interact with some great people on topics from work-life balance, work-home balance, business network and yes... CPR and First Aid. Indeed, I have online conversations with people about how we teach CPR. Sounds geeky, but I do learn a lot from these groups! There has been a discussion topic that we keep coming back to; online training. Are DVD's and websites replacing the instructor as the best way to learn CPR? Recently a member of one group posted a link to an article in Resuscitation Volume 81, Issue 8, August 2010, Pages 1004-1009 titled Comparison of instructor-led automated external defibrillation training and three alternative DVD-based training methods . On the edge of your seat wondering the final result of the comparison? Their initial premise was: Self-directed BLS-training, using a personal training manikin with video has been shown to be as ef...

Last spring I wrote a post Do you work out with ID? based on an accident that occurred earlier that month. A bicyclist was found unresponsive on the side of the road. CPR was successfully performed, but he remained unresponsive at the hospital. He had no ID on him and fortunately an article in the paper led to someone identifying him before he tragically passed away. This local story started me on a quest that I had been meaning to do for a while. I will state unequivocally that I am not an athlete. But I walk around town quite a bit - usually pushing at least one child in a stroller. I never take my wallet with me, usually just my cell phone, house keys, water, sippy cup(s) (that's for the kids) and a small diaper bag. That's enough stuff to be pushing around town without adding my wallet or purse. I never carry ID. And in a town with no sidewalks and no level shoulder on most roads that means cars have to move around me or I have to jump in a ditch with a stroller...

I am always amazed at science and how technology improves how we live and react to things around us. Meteorology is one of them. 100 years ago our ancestors knew a storm was coming when the weather began to turn. Today we know the forecast 10 days ahead of time. Hurricane Season is typically considered early June to late November, with a peak in the Atlantic between August and October. Hurricane Earl is working its way towards the Eastern coastline. Here in NH it looks like we’ll just get the outer fringes of the storm. Despite really good science and technology, it is still a guess and the prediction of the storm’s path is just that, a prediction. Which is a fancier word than educated guess. But what it does give us is time to adequately prepare for the storm. Advanced warnings mean that we can shop, stock up and avoid last minute craziness at the market or home improvement store. It is recommended that you have a 3 day store of supplies on hand when preparing for a hurr...

School is starting this week for my children, 3 kids at 2 different schools and only 1 still at home. September will be an interesting month as we adjust to the new routines. We've had a crazy, lazy, day-tripping, long list of things-not-done kinda summer. On the last list was my desire to keep up to date with the blog. But we made some fun summer memories and I'll post about some of our interesting road trips around the Seacoast soon. Today's post is a really belated back to school list. When we think of back to school we think of school supplies and school clothes. Sports gear and hopefully sports physicals. Last summer I posted a really good safety back to school checklist. I'm not going repost it, but here is a brief list of some back to school safety tips: If your child uses an inhaler or epi pen - do you have one to give to the school nurse that won't expire in the next few months? Make sure you have one that has a VALID expiration date to carry ...

I couldn't wait for success, so I just went right ahead without it - Jonathan Winters This morning I had what was probably the most productive business planning and introspection ever. And I was at the beach. Seriously. My oldest wanted a beach day with a friend (well friends, but scheduling didn't work out) without her younger siblings tagging along. So off we went this morning. While the girls used their boogie boards in the surf and had fun I was reading and listing to podcasts on my ipod. Having time to read and listen is RARE for me. So RARE I'm capitalizing it because, well,.... it just never seems to happen. I finally finished Corporate Mom Dropouts by Lucinda Cross and listened to some Mom Biz Coach audio blogs by Lara Galloway. And it just seemed that every section of the book, or the 3 or 4 audio blogs that I listened to just affirmed or got me thinking about what I am currently working on or where I am at with my business right now. What really ma...

Many of us celebrate July 4th the same way ... BBQ's with family, watching the fireworks and going to parades. Depending upon your plans, a little planning ahead can keep it safe for everyone. If you're using the BBQ make sure little kids and pets don't run around the grill. Headed to a parade or ceremony? Take a picture of everyone in a group on your digital camera or phone when you first arrive. If anyone, especially a child, gets separated from the group you will have a picture to share and will remember what they were wearing. Choose a spot to watch the fireworks that you're not too close so young children will not be as frightened by the noise. Using fireworks or planning an outdoor fire? Make sure to have a garden hose or bucket of water handy for emergencies. You can read a more detailed article I wrote on Fireworks Safety at Examiner.com . Have a safe Independence Day! Search Amazon.com for forth of july