By Karen Zapf
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Copyright 2006 Tribune Review Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
As a paramedic with the Plum Emergency Medical Service, Matt Strauss knows the importance of proper medical training, for professionals and regular folk.
Strauss, 20, of Penn Hills, wanted to come up with a way to generate interest in an upcoming cardiopulmonary resuscitation class sponsored by Plum EMS.
Then the idea hit him: “Food is a big attraction,” he said.
Plum EMS is teaming up with Palmieri’s Restaurant on Old Frankstown Road to offer a buffet dinner and CPR class for $20.
Palmieri’s has the menu and a room where the CPR class will be conducted.
“Plum has been has good to us, so we try to do what we can to help,” said Neil Palmieri, restaurant general manager. “When Plum EMS approached us with the idea, we jumped at it.”
The class will include instruction in the use of an automated external defibrillator, a device used to restart hearts.
Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double a victim’s chance of survival, according to the American Heart Association.
Strauss said as of late last week, about 20 people were registered for the class. He’s shooting for 50.
“We try to do one a year with a large group,” he said.
Audrey Leto, who took a previous CPR class given by Strauss, got to put her knowledge to practical use in May.
Leto, 22, of Oakland, works as an assistant athletic director at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association in Oakland.
Within weeks of being recertified in CPR and in the use of a defibrillator, Leto faced a real test. A man swimming in the pool at the athletic association went into cardiac arrest.
“I was working, and the lifeguard called me,” Leto said. “The man was gasping for air. We rolled him over and got the AED. Immediately after the first shock, he came to.”
Leto highly recommends the class.
“Everyone should know how to use an AED,” she said.