As helpful airport amenities go, Hands-Only CPR training kiosks can be lifesavers.
The American Heart Association already has these machines at six airports:
- O’Hare International Airport (ORD): Terminal 2 by Gates E1, E2 and E3
- Indianapolis International Airport (IND): Terminal A, Gate 8
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL): Concourse A between Gates A11 and A15
- Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI): Concourse B, Gate B7
- Dallas Ft. Worth International Airport (DFW): Terminal E between E21 and E31
- Harrisburg International Airport (MDT): Concourse B
Now three more machines are coming online:
- Cleveland Hopkins International: behind the Central Checkpoint – starting July 24
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International: Concourse A, Gates A6-A22 – starting Aug 1
- Orlando International Airport: entrance to the Main Food Court.
The machines offer a five-minute course in the Hands-Only CPR technique and can really help save lives: more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside the hospital each year and about 20 percent occur in public places such as airports. Performing CPR right away can double or triple a victim’s chance of surviving.
Each kiosk has a touch screen with a short video that provides an overview of Hands-Only CPR, followed by a practice session on a rubber torso and a 30-second test. The kiosk gives feedback on hand placement and the depth and rate of compresssions.
Not sure this works? In 2016 Matt Lickebrock spent 5 minutes learning the CPR technique on a machine at DFW International Airport in 2015 and few days later learned his new skill to save the life of his buddy, Sean Ferguson after he was struck by lightning in a parking lot at the University of Dayton. That’s Ferguson in the pic below learning the technique too.
Photos courtesy American Heart Association