Friday, September 20, 2013 | North Kitsap Herald
NorthKitsapHerald.com
Above, Suzie and Mark Potter react at the ceremony in which their children, Zachary Myers and Kyleigh Potter, were honored Sept. 9 for helping save the father’s life after he went into cardiac arrest. Right, Mark Potter embraces his daughter, Kyleigh, at the ceremony. Luke Wesson/ Byluke.com
CPR
Continued from page A26 arrived from Kingston at about 2:51 p.m. After two more minutes of CPR, the firefighter/ paramedic found that Mark’s pulse had returned. Within minutes, his airway was secured with a breathing tube, he was loaded into the paramedic unit and the crew was whisking him away to Bremerton’s Harrison Medical Center. “Just over an hour after he was discovered in cardiac arrest, Mark was receiving life-saving treatment from physicians and other skilled team members at Harrison’s top-notch cardiac care facility,” Laboda reported. “Mark suffered no long-term deficits and walked out of the hospital just 10 days after the event.” The study documenting Kitsap County’s success rates examined data on patients who go into sudden cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is defined as the absence of breathing and pulse. Without intervention, cardiac arrest always results in the patient’s death. Data on these patients is submitted to the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (or “CARES” Registry). Kitsap County eclipsed the state and the nation in resuscitation rates for 2011, with local overall survival at almost 17 percent compared to the state’s record of 15.1 percent and the
nation’s 7.7 percent. The 2012 statistics are even more impressive for patients whose collapse is witnessed, receive bystander CPR and early defibrillation. In these cases, Kitsap County survival rates were 41 percent compared to 38.6 percent in the rest of Washington state and 31.7 percent across the nation. Local experts in emergency medical services cite several factors in these success rates, such as coordinated efforts to promote CPR training, public access defibrillation, 911 callreceivers coaching callers in CPR, well-trained emergency medical personnel with cutting-edge knowledge and equipment, and the state-of-the-art cardiac care facilities and personnel of Harrison Medical Center. Learn more about the CARES Registry at www. cdc.gov/dhdsp/cares.htm. Kitsap County also had the highest percentage in Washington state of bystanders who stepped up to perform CPR on patients in cardiac arrest, according to the Kitsap County Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Council. While the NKF&R personnel involved in Mark Potter’s rescue say they were just “doing their jobs,” they are enthusiastic about honoring Kyleigh Potter and Zachary Myers for their critical role in Mark’s positive outcome. Every link in the chain of sur-
vival is important but Craig Barnard, the NKF&R firefighter/paramedic on the scene that day, says that good CPR and early defibrillation were the pivotal factors for Mark. Officials point to several important lessons from Potter’s story: n State where you are when reporting an emergency, especially when using a cellular phone. It is common for cell signals to hit towers in nearby counties. Avoid time-consuming confusion by starting your 911 call with the name of the county and a general description of the type of emergency you’re reporting i.e., “I’m in Kitsap County and I need an ambulance.” n Learn CPR. Contact your local fire department or the American Red Cross to get class schedules. n Get close to an AED (automated external defibrillator). Many schools, athletic clubs, casinos and others places where people congregate have automated external defibrillators. Every fire engine and ambulance in Kitsap County is equipped with a defibrillator. “Kitsap County’s EMS system is very good because every link — including the 911 center, bystander CPR providers, emergency responders and Harrison Medical Center — is strong,” Laboda reported.
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