Poster Presentation

NOT Just a Dispatcher: Reflections from a Grateful Dispatch-Assisted Lay Rescuer and Her Survivor Husband

Primary Presenter(s)

• 

  Jennifer Chap

  President and Co-Founder
  StrataVerve and BuddyCPR

Co-Presenter(s)

• 

  Rick Chap

  President
  BuddyCPR

Dispatch-assisted CPR represents one of the most effective ways to improve SCA survival. As a lay rescuer, Jennifer Chap performed dispatch-assisted CPR on her husband Rick that helped save his life. Theirs is a story of survival that takes the audience from terror to triumph. Rick kicks it off with his side of the story, noting how SCA can strike out of the blue. And, Jennifer shares her terrifying experience from the perspective of the other end of the phone, recalling in vivid detail her feelings, fears, realizations, struggles and gratitude on that fateful morning of Rick’s SCA in their home. This grateful husband and wife duo co-present sharing each other’s perspectives of their heart-stopping experience with SCA. Jennifer recognizes “dispatchers as the faceless heroes on the other end of the phone, who make the difference between life and death.” Her message emphasizes the urgency of getting hands on chest quickly, impact of ongoing coaching so the rescuer doesn’t feel alone, and the importance of reconnecting the rescuer and dispatcher after the call. Rick shares insights of his “sur-thrival” after SCA, turning his brush with death into a platform to save more lives from SCA.

Learning Objectives:

• List and describe how to implement three (3) elements of a comprehensive dispatch CPR and/or rapid dispatch program.
• Describe three (3) strategies for implementing effective support systems for cardiac arrest victims, survivors and their families and rescuers.
• List and describe one or more survivor / rescuer stories that can be used to illustrate an effective chain of survival for cardiac arrest.