OJAI : Heart Attack Victim Urges CPR Training

Vincent France of Ojai is living proof that cardiopulmonary resuscitation works.

The 48-year-old Ventura County Sheriff’s Department commander suffered a severe heart attack three years ago on a trip to Sacramento with his wife, B.J. She revived him with CPR.

“I was literally dead,” he said. “If she had not known what to do, I would not have lived.”

France related his brush with death recently in hopes that it would spur residents in the Ojai Valley to sign up for a free CPR session offered Saturday by the Ojai Valley Community Hospital.

As part of its Start-a-Heart Saturday, the hospital is offering two-hour CPR sessions at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. for adults and children 12 and older. The event will be held in the gym at Nordhoff High School, 1401 Maricopa Highway, Ojai.

France and his wife had just arrived at their hotel in Sacramento when his heart attack occurred. His wife, a sheriff’s deputy who works as a court bailiff, was required to have CPR training for her job. She administered CPR for two minutes. “It seemed like forever to her,” he said. “She was so frustrated, she hit me real hard in the chest.”

France had suffered a heart attack a year earlier at a restaurant. That time, a nurse revived him with CPR.

Doctors have installed in France’s chest an automatic defibrillator, which monitors his heart rate. Only a few people in the country have one of the $25,000 machines.

France said he feels fortunate to have been revived twice by people who had undergone CPR training. During Saturday’s CPR sessions, children 4 to 11 years will be supervised while they participate in a safety program that includes instruction on making an emergency telephone call. Also, fire, police, and medical emergency equipment and vehicles will be on display.

To make reservations for one of the classes, call 640-8712.