A CPR class will be held in Ketchikan to certify Filipino citizens. The Ketchikan Wellness Coalition class is designed to help residents in times of emergency. This skill is even more important in Ketchikan’s largest apartment buildings where it can be difficult or impossible for residents to use a defibrillator.
Alma Parker is the leader of the Strengthening Cultural Unity taskforce. This class is targeted at Filipinos who can speak more than one language, she said. Parker stated that if a bilingual person has been certified in CPR, they can assist others who don’t know English and wait for emergency responders.
Parker stated that it would be ideal to have bilingual people (become certified), in different dialects, since Tagalog is the Philippine national language. However, there are many dialects among Filipinos.” “So that would make the world a perfect place.”
The coalition is particularly interested in seeing more CPR-certified Filipinos living in Ketchikan’s largest apartment buildings, Tongass Towers, and Marine View Condominiums. According to 2020 Census data, the majority of residents of both buildings are Asian and they together house about 30% of Ketchikan’s Asian-American community.
Parker stated that there are “highly dense Filipino populations (who) live there.” “And it was important to make sure that the building had a CPR-trained resident.”
Ketchikan Fire department officials say neither of the buildings have an AED (automatic external defibrillator) and they are not required to. They can increase the chances that someone will survive after their heart stops. According to the Red Cross, survival rates drop by 10% for every minute someone is without a defibrillator.
Chief Rick Hines of the Ketchikan Fire department stated that CPR is the best method to keep someone alive, until an AED can be obtained.
Hines explained that the AED is used to keep blood flowing, oxygenated, and stimulate the heart so that it can stay in this rhythm until an AED or defibrillator arrives and shocks them.
Hines pointed out that CPR certification is a sign that someone will need to be able to perform CPR one day. He said that most often, it is a family member who requires help.
Hines stated, “We talk about having plans for fires or fire escapes, or what to do if it happens. But, I think it’s also worth mentioning, what happens when you’re with your parents, and they start showing symptoms of stroke or heart attack signs and symptoms?” What’s your plan? What are you planning to do?
Hines stated that every second counts. He expected first responders to reach one of the buildings within six minutes from the downtown station. However, this doesn’t include the time it takes for the equipment and crew to reach the correct floor.
He said that elevator availability is something you should consider. This includes how long it takes to call an elevator and how many stops the elevator makes getting up to the floors. And that can certainly make the time it takes for the elevator to get to the top floor more than it takes to respond to that building.
This is why the Wellness Coalition works to certify more residents. Parker also said that a similar CPR class was held last month and showed promising results.
She explained that the Plaza hosted our first CPR class. We recruited and encouraged people to join the class who were Filipino and spoke Tagalog. “So that we could have bilingual, CPR trained first aid and CPR community members for our beautiful town of Ketchikan.”
Eight Filipino residents were CPR-certified at that class. Four of the participants also spoke Tagalog. Parker said that some of those people were children and she would like to see more youth in future classes.
Although she said that AEDs could be placed in the building, her organization would also consider it. However, the devices need to be maintained and up-keep. The coalition is working hard to spread the vital information of CPR as widely as possible.
