CPR Classes Put a Gift of Life in Seniors’ Hands

Under the watchful eye of a firefighter, 73-year-old Nathan Goldberg inhaled deeply and then blew forcefully into the mouth of the mannequin lying on a table. When he finished, he remembered a frightening moment that had led him to a cardiopulmonary resuscitation class.

Several years ago, he and his wife were lying in bed when she had a heart attack.

Learned Basic Techniques

“I didn’t know what to do,” said Goldberg, a Reseda resident. “I kept thinking it was going to stop, but her pain didn’t go away. I called my son first, and he told us to call the paramedics.”

Goldberg was one of 25 senior citizens, many of whom said friends and loved ones had suffered heart attacks or choked, who learned the basic techniques of administering CPR Friday. The two-hour free class at Fire Station 83 in Encino kicked off what will become a monthly event in Los Angeles City Fire Department stations in the San Fernando Valley.

To publicize what was called a “dramatic and urgent need” for training,” Donald O. Manning, Fire Department chief engineer and general manager, and Mayor Tom Bradley attended the course and urged the group to tell others to attend a CPR class.

If CPR is administered within the first minute after breathing has stopped, there is a 95% chance of survival, Manning told the group. He said studies show that, after four minutes, a person who is not breathing has a 4% chance of survival.

Manning said that up to five minutes can pass from the time a person calls the Fire Department until emergency aid arrives.

“You are literally putting life into someone when you have the training to administer CPR,” Manning said.

Goldberg, whose wife recovered, said taking the CPR course relieved him of the sense of helplessness he experienced during her attack.

“I feel so much better now,” he said as he walked away from the practice mannequin. “For years I have told my wife I was going to take one of these classes. You always hear about them but never seem to pay much attention.”

Acquaintance Choked to Death

Arthur Hill, 80, of Encino said he decided to take the course after learning that an acquaintance had choked to death.

“It just showed me that you don’t know when something like that is going to happen,” Hill said.

In the Valley, each of the five Fire Department battalions will begin conducting two-hour CPR training courses every month, Manning said. More information may be obtained from the Fire Department at 989-8658.