Arlington Mayor Dr. Robert Cluck

April 21, 2006
CPaRlington

Monday, April 10, 2006 was an exciting day in Arlington. It was a day when over 250 citizens gathered at Ameriquest Field in Arlington and began the quest to train 10% of Arlington’s population to administer life-saving cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR). This training was a collaborative effort between the City of Arlington, UTA, AISD, the American Heart Association and the Texas Rangers.

While normal certification for CPR requires a 6-8 hours commitment, a new product called CPR Anytime allows one to learn to administer emergency CPR in only 22 minutes. This training requires a kit which contains an instructional DVD and a mannequin. The technique is simple to master and effective in life-saving situations. It is my firm belief that all of the 250 people that were trained on April 10th will be able to administer life saving CPR to a victim of cardiac arrest until emergency responders arrived.

After cardiac arrest occurs, effective resuscitation efforts have to begin within 2-3 minutes of the arrest if the victim is to have a realistic chance of surviving the episode or avoiding serious brain damage. The very earliest we would expect a first responder emergency arrival is 3-4 minutes after the emergency 911 call is made. Therefore, it is clear that the only way to increase survival rates for cardiac arrest victims is by having bystanders capable of administering CPR.

In the next five years, my hope is that there will be at least 36,000 people in Arlington capable of administering CPR. Although an ambitious goal, and one that has never been accomplished in the United States, it is one that is attainable. The CPaRlington coalition will continue to have mass CPR training at different locations throughout the community. However, I also ask that churches, businesses and neighborhood associations do their part to help us attain this very important goal. Each CPR Anytime kit will cost roughly $30, so we ask the generous people and businesses of Arlington to consider making donations for the purchase of these kits. I also ask each Arlington family to purchase a kit, share it with the entire family, and review the information and techniques every 4-6 months. Please contact The Arlington Fire Department at cparlington@arlingtontx.gov or 817-459-5500 regarding donations and sponsorship information. To purchase CPR Anytime Kits please call 1-888-297-7772, Ext 4232. I sincerely thank you for your participation and support of this program, and so will the people who survive an otherwise fatal event because of your contributions of time, talent and resources.

This initiative is, after all, a matter of life and death.

Robert N. Cluck, M.D.
Mayor of Arlington