Ringdahl presents at conference

Fischer, Hardy work to save lives with use of CPR and AED

By Tom Hintgen (Contact) | The Daily Journal

Published Monday, November 17, 2008

Randy Fischer and Patricia Hardy of Ringdahl Ambulance are on a mission to prevent loss of lives from sudden cardiac arrest. They’re working to accomplish this by raising awareness and educating communities about CPR and use of AEDs.

To that end, they interacted with other emergency responders during the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA) National Conference in Philadelphia.

Fischer, operations director for Ringdahl EMS who is based in Fergus Falls, Falls, is chair of the local chapter of SCAA. He spoke at the recent SCAA national conference.

This year Fischer has spoken to over 3,000 people and is training Hardy (EMT-I), who works for Ringdahl at the Jamestown office, to help with similar speaking engagements in North Dakota.

There are many other CPR instructors from Ringdahl Ambulance who are teaching CPR and AED classes. That’s in addition to the presentations that Fischer gives for free throughout Otter Tail County, as part of the SCAA chapter.

“In Philadelphia, during my presentations, I talked about Ringdahl Ambulance’s years of efforts to raise awareness and train people about sudden cardiac arrest, the importance of immediate Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED),” Fischer said. “More lives will be saved if everyone is trained in CPR and how to use an AED.”

“Patricia and I are trying to build SCAA membership and are looking for more people to continue the message and help save more lives,” Fischer said.

They said that sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing nearly 300,000 Americans each year. National survival rates remain in the five to seven percent range.

Hardy said that studies have shown that immediate CPR and quick access (of less than eight minutes) to an automated external defibrillator (AED) can increase survival rates to as high as 30 to 50 percent.

“One resuscitation survey, funded by a grant, reflects that 88 percent consider better bystander CPR as the most critical element in improving survival rates,” Fischer said.

Dr. Vince Mosesso, SCAA's medical director, believes that everyone should know CPR and that AEDs should be widely deployed in our communities as a first step. Then, he says the public should be better informed about the risk factors for cardiac arrest so that patients at risk can seek preventive medical care.

Fischer and Hardy met with Mosesso and many other national leaders and researchers in resuscitation during the four days at the conference in Philadelphia.

“We also met with survivors of Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA),” Fischer said. “Survivors are the passion behind our efforts. Their stories are incredible, their survival is a miracle and their lives are testimonies to the importance of CPR and AEDs.”

The aforementioned quote from Fischer was highlighted in a video that was created as a tribute to the survivors and the rescuers when he spoke at an Allina Cardiac conference in Minneapolis in 2006. He encourages everyone to learn CPR and how to use an AED.

“Someday,” he said, “a person’s life will depend on your immediate actions.

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