Kansas City Airport Videos Promote First Aid

At Kansas City International Airport, a stark video of a man collapsing on the concourse began greeting travelers Thursday.

The video, in which two bystanders come to the victim's aid, is not intended to scare travelers, but to educate them on how to respond to a cardiac emergency.

It is one in a series of public service announcements that are being aired continually on departure lounge monitors and flight information screens inside all three terminals.

The project, Operation Heart Safe, is a joint public safety initiative of the Kansas City Aviation Department, St. Luke's Mid America Heart Institute and Anne Peterson Productions.

The videos show people how to use the publicly accessible automatic external defibrillators on the concourse walls.

They demonstrate a technique called "Call & Pump," in which a bystander directs someone to call 911 and begins pumping the victim's chest.

Officials said the video announcements are crucial in a facility where more than 9 million people pass through each year.

"We are a 24-hour city within a city," Aviation Director Mark VanLoh said. "And we have a lot of the same emergencies that cities have."

Mayor Kay Barnes said the videos are an educational tool that makes KCI one of the safest places to be should someone collapse from a cardiac arrest.

"I know this can literally save lives," she said.

Three automatic external defibrillators are in each newly renovated terminal. When someone pulls a defibrillator from its compartment, it triggers an alarm, summoning emergency medical personnel.

KCI officials note that airport police officers have been carrying defibrillators for more than a decade. Many of them also are certified emergency medical technicians, they said.

Airport Police Lt. Steve Newman said officers have responded to three cardiac emergencies in the past year. Officers were able to save one of the victims with a defibrillator.

Marcia McCoy, executive director of the Heart Safe Community campaign of St. Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, said the videos show how the "Call & Pump" technique and in-house defibrillators go hand in hand.

"More than 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrests happen outside a hospital," McCoy said. "Calling 911 is not good enough. People must be ready and proactive."

Peterson, a former KCTV anchor who appears in some of the videos, noted that many people are hesitant to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

That is why it is important to apply continuous chest compressions to a cardiac arrest victim until a defibrillator or emergency personnel arrives, she said.

"Doing something," Peterson said, "is better than doing nothing."

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To reach Mike Rice, call (816) 234-5903 or send e-mail to mrice@kcstar.com .

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