This past December, our Executive Director was an invited speaker to come back and present at the Citizen CPR Foundation’s, Cardiac Arrest Survival Summit in San Diego, CA. This program draws a world-wide audience of not only experts in the resuscitation field, but survivors of cardiac arrest from a multitude of causes.
Our presentation, “Drowning Incidents – What You Can Do To Make a Difference”, explored this issue from a prevention, intervention, and postvention perspective. While not always recognized when one thinks of a cardiac arrest event, significant numbers of drownings occur across the globe and impact victims of all ages and backgrounds. The presentation looked at the topic from a medical, civilian/by-stander, and public safety diving perspective. Tips, techniques, and actual cases were presented to highlight ways to increase the success of prevention of these incidents; what one can do safely if they find themselves at the scene of a drowning; and how communities can and have turned this type of tragedy into opportunities to help others.
It was an honor to be invited back as a speaker to this event and to be able to speak on a topic of which we are very passionate about. We at NPSS have spent decades involved in the public safety diving, water safety education, and crisis intervention fields and thus have had a front row view into drowning incidents from many angles.
We commend the Citizen CPR Foundation for recognizing the need to bring this non-traditional topic to their conference. Their work in the field of getting the message out about cardiac arrest and survivability, regardless of the cause, has and continues to make a difference in so many lives. We at NPSS are extremely thankful to have the opportunities work with organizations such as this to help make a difference.