Health

Stuck at the airport? Learn how to save a life.

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There are lots of things you can do with your time when you’re stuck at the airport.

You can eat, shop, work, snooze, walk around, chat with other travelers, look out the window and catch up on phone calls.

Or you can learn to save a life at one of the Hands-Only CPR Training kiosks that have been popping up at airports around the country.

At each kiosk, there’s a brief “how-to” video followed by a practice session and a 30-second CPR test on a practice manikin, or a rubber torso.

The kiosk gives feedback about the depth and rate of compressions and proper hand placement – which are the factors that influence the effectiveness of CPR. And whether or not you might be able to save someone’s life.

“Every second counts when a person suffers a cardiac arrest, which is why bystander CPR must start immediately until professional help arrives,” said Dr. John Harold, a cardiologist and President of the American Heart Association’s Los Angeles Board of Directors. “But bystanders may be reluctant to perform CPR because of lack of training or they may be fearful. The kiosks will help the public acquire a comfort level with performing chest compressions without the stress of an actual medical emergency, so they’ll feel empowered to spring into action if they witness a cardiac emergency.” 

Los Angeles International Airport is the latest airport to get a Hands-Only CPR kiosk. The LAX unit is located near Gate 150 on the Upper/Departures Level of Tom Bradley International Terminal.

An additional 35 of these kiosks are located across the U.S; 18 of them are in U.S. airports, including Oakland Int’l Airport, John Wayne Airport, Orlando International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and airports in Indianapolis and other cities. Check this location map to find a kiosk near you.

Chill out with Cathay Pacific’s yoga/meditation space at Hong Kong Airport

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Long flights can do a number on your body – and your mind.

Experts prescribe healthy eating and lots of moving around before, during and after you flight.

Now Cathay Pacific, already loved for its amenity-rich lounges at Hong Kong International Airport and elswhere, is offering passengers a tool for mind and body: a space for yoga and meditation in its Business Class lounge at The Pier.

The Sanctuary by Pure Yoga, designed in partnership with The Pure Group, is a 700 square-foot area divided into two zones – The Body Sanctuary, which is dedicated to yoga – and The Mind Sanctuary, which offers a space for meditation.

In the Body Sanctuary, travelers will find guided videos led by Pure Yoga teachers and a more secluded space for self-practice.

The space also offers an option for seated stretching, with chairs overlooking instructions on how to stretch different parts of the body. The exercises are designed to improve circulation, enhance joint mobility and relax the mind for a comfortable and restful journey.

In the Mind Sanctuary there are two types of meditation available:

Audio meditation has four cushioned pods equipped with noise-canceling headphones and iPads offering guided meditation sessions narrated by Pure Yoga’s expert teachers. Gazing meditation has comfortable cushions overlook graphics placed on the wall to facilitate Trataka yoga practice.

These practices help improve focus, memory and visualisation skills, as well as centering the mind in a state of awareness and attention.

Want to try it out? The Sanctuary by Pure Yoga is open to passengers with access to Cathay Pacific’s The Pier Business Class Lounge at Hong Kong Airport; to Diamond, Gold and Silver Marco Polo Club members; and to Cathay Pacific and Cathay Dragon First and Business Class passengers.

More zen in flight – and on the ground

Once in the air, Cathay Pacific offers “Travel with Yoga,” a series of inflight videos designed to help passengers ease into their journeys with meditation and yoga.

On the ground, the airline also offers its Diamond and Gold Marco Polo Club members arriving in Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific or Cathay Dragon complimentary one-day access to any Pure Fitness centre or a choice of any Pure Yoga class up to 12 times a year.

Airlines, airports go pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month

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Airlines and airports are going pink to promote Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Throughough October, Tampa International Airport is lighting up its SkyConnect stations in a shade of pink. TPA’s Guest Service Representatives are all wearing pink scarves and ties and airport police officers are wearing pink ribbon-adorned badges.

Miami International Airport is also going pink during October.

Travelers will see pink signage on MIA’s Central  Boulevard welcome sign,  flight information screens, ticket counter monitors and more.

Last year, the Miami-Dade Aviation Department (MDAD) raised more than $35,000 for the American Cancer Society’sMaking Strides Against Breast Cancer (MSABC) Walk – the most of any Miami-Dade County department – through employee-led food sales, raffles, auctions and activities. This year, MDAD has partnered with concessionaires at Miami International Airport to raise more than $16,000, with the goal of surpassing its 2017 total.

Airlines are also going pink.

To raise awareness and support for breast cancer research, Delta Air Lines employees will wear pink uniforms and sell pink products, including pink lemonade and pink headsets, on board and in Delta Sky Clubs throughout the month of October.

This year, customers can also purchase Pink Boutique merchandise through the Pink Boutique online store. Proceeds from the onboard sales and online Pink Boutique benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s research projects and the overall mission of finding a cure. Delta will also donate 10 percent of all on-board sales directly to BCRF during the month of October.

American Airlines is also participating in Breast Cancer Awareness month by raising fund for the Susan B. Komen group:

  • AAdvantage customers can receive 20 AAdvantage miles for every $1 donated to Susan G. Komen with a minimum donation of $25 from Oct. 1 to Oct. 31.
  • Team members who are survivors of breast cancer will be prominently featured on aa.com, on AA flight and gate information display screens and in Admirals Clubs.
  • On planes, there will be pink beverage napkins and pink inflight menus, amenity kits, Wi-Fi portal and more.
  • Passengers will also be invited to donate directly to Susan B. Komen during flights. flight.

Other airlines and other airports will be marking Breast Cancer Awareness Month as well with fundraising efforts, information campaigns and lots of pink. If you know of a campaign, let us know.

Stuck at Oakland In’tl Airport? Learn to save a life

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Courtesy American Heart Association

Oakland International Airport has joined the list of airports where passengers waiting for their flights can learn to save a life.

In partnership with the American Heart Association, OAK airport now hosts two hands-only CPR training kiosks which offer travelers an easy, five-minute course in how to save help someone who is having a heart attack.

Each kiosk has a touch screen with a short video that provides an overview of Hands-Only CPR, followed by a practice session and a 30-second test. With the help of a practice mannequin, or a rubber torso, the kiosk gives feedback about the depth and rate of compressions, as well as proper hand placement – which are the key factors that influence the effectiveness of CPR.

Instructions are offered in English or Spanish and include closed captioning.

At OAK, there’s one CPR training kiosk in Terminal 2, near Gate 27 and another in Terminal 1, near Gate 8.

Not at OAK? There are 14 additional kiosks at airports across the United States, including at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, Orlando International Airport, Dallas -Fort Worth International Airport, Indianapolis International Airport, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and several others.

 

Don’t just sit there: learn CPR at these airports

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Hands-only CPR training unit at Chicago O’Hare Airport

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