One thing to keep in mind about being trained in CPR/First Aid is that
it doesn't cost greatly, and it's a skill that you'll always take with
you no matter where.  I have known businesses with 100+ employees that
have offered it to everybody free of charge and some have even paid the
employees for taking it.

Thanks,
Anthony

Visit me at http://www.anthonyarnold.net/

-----Original Message-----
From: St. John's University Cerebral Palsy List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Cleveland, Kyle E.
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2003 3:44 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Bob Mauro really gets around

Right you are, Bobby.  Folks should at least have the basic training and
knowledge to perform CPR, primary first aid and shock stabilization (far
more people die from shock than directly from their traumatic wounds.
If
you can minimize blood loss and treat for shock, folks can live a
surprisingly long time after suffering some pretty gory wounding).

"Good Samaritan" laws notwithstanding, I think our culture is swinging
toward waiting for "professsional" help when they witness, or are
directly
involved in, medical emergencies.

You know, too, the blackout really underscored for me how dependent we
are
on our sevice infrastructure--and how much we take it for granted.  When
the
blizzards of '77 and '78 hit the Midwest, an outrageous number of folks
died
because they either allowed themselves to freeze to death, even though
the
materials were available right in their homes to keep them
alive--comfortable, even.  Others killed themselves through ignorant
acts
like trying to use their charcoal grills for a heat source (carbon
monoxide
poisoning).

Some of the case studies and simulations I've reviewed and participated
in
show that we could have a societal meltdown in just a couple days if we
have
a compounded disaster or an extended monolithic (only one service
affected--like the blackout) disaster.

As my father bluntly said the other day, "People don't know how to s**t
in
the woods anymore."  I think he has a point.

Kyle

-----Original Message-----
From: BG Greer, PhD [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: Wednesday, September 03, 2003 11:17 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Bob Mauro really gets around


> I guess being in the "disaster" business as I have for the last couple
of
> years makes me a little overly worried.

       Of late I've done some thinking about disasters. I have been in
an
ice
storm here and in Memphis and that is enough to scare you in to thinking
about contingency plans. But when electrity, telephones and roads go;
that
would
be bad. we have a pantry stocked with food and some wood for heat(wood
is
hard
to come by here in Texas). But if a medical emergency ocurred, we would
be
in
dire straits.

Bobby