Travelers with time on their hands at the airport can learn how to use those hands to save lives.
The American Heart Association and the Anthem Foundation are installing Hands-Only CPR (HOCPR) training kiosks in five major airports – with the first kiosk debuting today at O’Hare International Airport and the rest set to roll out by mid-March at Indianapolis International (IND), Las Vegas’ McCarran International (LAS), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) and Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall (BWI) airports.
These kiosks join the pilot kiosk installed in 2013 at the Dallas/Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW) by AHA and American Airlines Occupation Health Services.
Each Hands-Only CPR training kiosk has a touch screen with a video program that gives a brief “how-to,” followed by a practice session and a 30-second CPR test on a practice manikin, or a rubber torso. The kiosk provides feedback about the depth and rate of compressions and proper hand placement – the key factors that influence the effectiveness of CPR.
Why is taking a few moments to learn CPR more important than having another airport cupcake?
Because each year more than 359,000 cardiac arrests occur outside the hospital and more than 20 percent (71,200) occur in public places such as airports.
Thanks for visiting Stuck at the Airport. Subscribe to get daily travel tidbits. And follow me on Twitter at @hbaskas and Instagram.