Date: October 8, 2009
41 train staff get certified on CPR and lifesaving equipment
Rail Runner AEDs (Albuquerque, NM – October 8, 2009) – 41 engineers, conductors and ticket clerks on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express are now fully trained and certified in the use of lifesaving defibrillators that are now installed on the cab cars of every New Mexico Rail Runner Express train set.
“When you consider the fact that a person can be on the train anywhere from 15-minutes to two-hours, it makes sense to have this kind of equipment in the event of a medical emergency”, says Lawrence Rael, Executive Director for the Mid-Region Council of Governments. “We look at this as a continued effort to provide safe transportation”.
Back in July, train staffers began a series of weekend classes on how to administer defibrillator procedures to passengers in an emergency situation aboard the train. Just this week, the last of 11 “AED’s” or Automated External Defibrillators was installed.
“This is a huge advancement in public safety in New Mexico”, says Robert LaPrise, Co-owner, EMS Aspects. “The New Mexico Rail Runner Express is the first mass transit agency in the state to have AED’s available to their passengers”.
The defibrillators that have been installed on Rail Runner trains are portable units that provide the same action as those found in hospitals and medical facilities. Defibrillators deliver an electrical current through the chest to the heart to correct a critically irregular and life-threatening heartbeat.
Albuquerque-based EMS Aspects is the company that installed the AED’s on New Mexico Rail Runner Express trains. EMS also provided the training for Rail Runner staff in conjunction with the American Heart Association.
“At least 250,000 Americans die each year of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) before they reach a hospital”, says Elizabeth Armijo, American Heart Association. “Many of these lives can be saved if bystanders quickly phone 9-1-1 and begin CPR, and if trained responders provide defibrillation within minutes. Having AED’s in public places, such as the New Mexico Rail Runner, increases the chances of survival”.
For more information on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express, visit www.nmrailrunner.com
Contact: Augusta Meyers, Mid-Region Council of Governments (505) 239-8612
