Written by: Gary Allen, Newberg Graphic 

Part 4 of a series of four stories: Local agencies working to train the public and those within their organizations to administer CPR and use AEDs

There's no debate, AEDs and CPR save lives, but only if a trained individual is on hand to administer the life-saving measures. Agencies in Newberg are well aware of that and are taking steps to ensure that as many people as possible are prepared to save a life.

Newberg School District

Annie Berger is the nurse in the Newberg School District. The district holds monthly first-aid and CPR classes, including two in the summer that also train on AED use, for staff members.

"The school district meets and in many cases exceeds the required 60 students to one staff member trained in first-aid/CPR/AED," she said.

The district uses a curriculum from Medic First Aid. The class is a combination of video, discussion and hands-on practice in AED and CPR skills.

"I make sure that everyone in the class knows the location of the AED in each of their buildings," Berger said, adding that the program was put in place before she started working in the district in 2007. "We use the most up-to-date curriculum, following all the newest guidelines from the American Heart Association."

That training extends to students at Mountain View Middle School and Newberg High School, Berger said.

Although Berger couldn't recall a teacher, staff member or student administering CPR or employing an AED within a school, she did recount the story of a staff member who used her training at a critical time.

"In 2015, I came back from summer break and a staff member told me she was returning her grandchildren home and went to wake up the children's 28-year-old mother.  The staff member found her daughter in bed not breathing," Berger said. "She screamed and started to panic and her son-in-law runs in and reminds her she know CPR."

The woman's training kicked in as she pulled her daughter off the bed and began administering CPR, continuing to do so for more than 10 minutes until emergency personnel arrived. The woman was transferred to the hospital and placed on a ventilator in the intensive care unit. Ten days later she was discharged with no brain damage.

"That is a testament to excellently-performed CPR.  Ten minutes of CPR is a really long time and a lot of hard work to do, especially on your own daughter," Berger said.

Chehalem Park and Recreation District

The CPRD holds CPR/AED classes at the aquatic center each month that result in certifications for both and has done so for at least a decade. The district is willing to offer group classes by request as well, said Matt Compton, CPRD recreation specialist. Visit https://apm.activecommunities.com/cprd/Activity_Search/20553 for more information on classes.

"On average we do 4 certifications a month; those numbers tend to fluctuate," Compton said. "I have ran classes for as few as two and as many as 20."

The makeup of those taking the classes is mixed, Compton said, although an increasing number are business people.

"We do often hear that they are taking this class to fulfill a requirement at work," he said. "We certainly would schedule specific training sessions for businesses and their staff. But mostly these classes are attended by individuals and not groups." 

Two instructors from within the CPRD teach the classes for now, Compton said, and the students emerge with an American Red Cross certification.

It just so happens that the CPRD has a first-aid/AED/CPR class slated for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the aquatic center. The class is for individuals a minimum of 15 years old and results in a two-year certification. The course description says it "teaches students critical skills needed to respond to and manage a first-aid, choking or sudden cardiac arrest emergency, until emergency services (EMS) arrives." It will also cover how to treat bleeding, sprains broken bones, shock and other first-aid emergencies.

George Fox University

The Christian school that calls Newberg home recently held a first-aid/AED/CPR class in mid-May and has four more scheduled this summer for employees and students June 12-13, June 28-29, July 11-12 and July 27-28.

"Summer is a great time to get trained in first-aid/CPR/AED," a notice from the school said. "We would love for every department to have somebody trained in these skills."

Sign-up for the class, which runs $45, is done through the school's security services department by contacting senior training officer Mark Stone at 503-554-2090 or email him at mstone@george.edu.