Cruise Ship and Yacht Medical Safety - How Safe are You, Your Crew and Your Family?

March 14, 2010 - PRLog -- On dry land in the United States we often forget how fortunate we are that during a medical emergency we can pick up the telephone, push 3 digits – 911, and within a few minutes have trained emergency medical professionals at our front door.  Within minutes the patient is receiving emergency medical treatment and if needed will be transported to a nearby hospital for additional medical treatment.  I have seen people go from dialing 911 at their home, to the ambulance, to the hospital operating room in under 30 minutes.  These fast response times save lives in the US but on a cruise ship or yacht this is usually not the case.  

Because help is not always a few minutes away on cruise ships and yachts The CPR School offers ship board CPR AED and First Aid Safety Training Certification Classes.  To better serve our marine captains and marine crew we created a new website http://www.CaptainCPR.com.  If you earn a living working on or around the water and are responsible for the safety of your crew, coworkers and guests you should invest in CPR AED and First Aid safety training and prepare for medical emergencies.

Earlier this month two people died when a series of waves more than 33 feet high struck a ship in the Mediterranean.  In a few months hurricane season will be upon us.  How prepared is the ship for medical emergencies such as bleeding and burns?  How about stroke, heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest?  In our classes we train both the captain and crew how to prepare for and how to treat many common medical emergencies that may happen while at sea.

Below are just a few injury injuries that happened on cruise ships.  

February 16 ,2010 - The United States Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) is investigating the death of cruise ship passenger Kipi Holcomb, 32, of Churchill, Texas who was found dead in her cabin aboard the Carnival Cruise Lines' Ecstasy. FBI agents flew to Mexico to board the ship as their investigation into the circumstances of Holcomb's death began.

Spencer Yu, 46, a Los Angeles Warner Bros attorney, was aboard Royal Caribbean International's Mariner Of The Seas on Saturday, October 24, 2009 when he collapsed.  Yu was rushed off the ship after they had tried to revive him without success. He was taken Puerto Vallarta hospital where he was declared dead after no brain activity was found

Darrin Josepth SanFillippo, 44, died while cruisinig with his family aboard Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Miracle  on Saturday, June 27, 2009.  He was found unconscious on the floor inside his cabin.

Howard Crager, was a retired  Lt. Colonel in the Army Reserve, where he served for 27 years. He had been sailing the Caribbean aboard Carnival Cruise Line's Carnival Liberty in cabin #7258 on the American Memorial Weekend,  when he suddenly passed away.  

Ron McClelland boarded a listener's cruise along with other listeners of Christian radio WCRJ 88.1, The Promise and only half hour before the ship was to arrive back to the Port Of Jacksonville, Florida, McClelland fell to the ground, and could not be revived.

James Michael Burgess was found bleeding from a head injury, found lying face down in a pool of blood,  aboard the 1,200 passenger, 308-foot-long SunCruz's casino ship, Sun Cruz XXII off Port Canaveral.  A passenger aboard the ship alerted crew to Burgess lying unconscious on the restroom floor.  The ship had left the Port Of Canaveral at 1900 hours and was due to return at midnight, on a five hour gambling cruise.  After being found bleeding from his head, he was taken to Cape Canaveral Hospital. where he died and was pronounced dead at 2337 hours (11:37pm).

February 13, 2010 - Coast Guard medevacs ailing cruise ship passenger - An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Sector San Diego medically evacuated a cruise ship passenger 100 miles south of San Diego Saturday evening.  At 12:45 p.m., the crew of the cruise ship Mariner of the Sea notified the Coast Guard that the 85-year-old man was experiencing trouble breathing and other symptoms. A Coast Guard flight surgeon contacted medical staff aboard the cruise ship and determined that the man’s condition was stable and the ship should continue north.  At 4:30 p.m., the man’s condition worsened and it was determined that a medevac was necessary.

The helicopter crew hoisted the patient and a nurse from the cruise ship. During transit the man experienced cardiac arrest symptoms and became unresponsive. The nurse and Coast Guard rescue swimmer performed CPR for the duration of the flight.  The patient and nurse were transferred to medical personnel at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., just after 8 p.m.

December 3, 2009  - A crew from Coast Guard Station San Diego medically evacuated a man who suffered a possible cardiac arrest three miles off the coast of San Diego Thursday morning.  The cruise ship, Carnival Paradise, contacted the Coast Guard requesting a medevac for the 77-year-old man at 2:40 a.m.

If you work on a cruise ship or yacht and wish to improve the safety of your crew and guests we can help.  The CPR School offers CPR, AED, First Aid and Bloodborne Pathogen HIV AIDS Safety Training Certification Classes on board your vessel.  The CPR School will travel to your boat offering onboard safety training certification classes for you and your employees.  In addition to training, we will perform an onsite safety survey and risk assessment.  We can inspect your first aid medical supplies, test and inspect your AED, determine if you have sufficient medical supplies and if you have these items in the proper location.

Many clients ask, should we have an AED - Automated External Defibrillator?
My answer is always "Yes". I say yes as long as you are willing to implement the program correctly.  According to the American Heart Association, sudden cardiac arrest claims about 340,000 lives each year – or around 1,000 every day in the United States.  Sudden cardiac arrest, which is the leading cause of death in the United States. Cardiac arrest kills more people than breast cancer, lung cancer, and AIDS combined. Currently 95 percent of all cardiac arrest victims die.

Simply put, Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) save lives.  Would you vote in favor of spending $2,000 if it saved a friend or family members life? The answer is obviously yes. You have smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, security cameras and other systems to save your property why not put something in place that saves lives.

We highly recommend doing your homework before hiring a company to train your crew.  These are life saving skills they are teaching so the instructor must not only know the material and have real life experience, they must be able to effectively communicate the material to your staff in an easy to understand and memorable manner.  Our company’s motto is, “We put the Sea in CPR™”.  We work with captains and crew all the time and speak their language.  Call us for onboard ship medical emergency training plus AED sales, supplies and service.

Keith Murray, a former Florida Firefighter EMT, is the owner of The CPR School.  The CPR School provides CPR, AED First Aid Safety Training as well as AED Sales and Service.  Contact The CPR School at +1-561-762-0500 or e-mail us at Keith@TheCPRSchool.com.

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We provide American Heart Association, ASHI and ECSI CPR, First Aid and Automated External Defibrillator - AED Safety Training Certification Classes.

We also sell Automated External Defibrillators - AEDs, AED Batteries, AED Electrode Pads, Upgrade AEDs, Service AEDs and Provide AED Program Management.

The CPR School, LLC
htto://www.TheCPRSchool.com
561-762-0500