Airport emergency drill deemed a success

The Antigua & Barbuda Airport Authority (ABAA) is envisioning that the country’s first aid consciousness will soon be on par with that of Seattle, USA, where almost all working class people are required to be trained in responding to cardiac emergencies.
Yesterday, an emergency drill at the V C Bird International Airport (VCBIA) was deemed a success as the American University of Antigua (AUA) tested the knowledge of staff and the responsiveness of all emergency protocols for cardiac arrest emergencies.
Personal Assistant to the ABAA’s Director of Operations, Francine Joseph James said there are 25 certified employees at the airport, to include pilots, air hostesses, checkpoint staff and on the ground operators, but the vision is to have everyone in Antigua trained, starting with the airport staff.
“I am very impressed with the persons who participated,” Joseph James said. “They are ready and these are people who were very much on board with training and being a part of the different sessions the AUA has been undertaking with the airport authority. They did well and it goes to show that once you are interested in something, you would be able to execute what is expected of you.”
In the exercise scenario, a man had collapsed on the floor and the team went into full emergency mode, asking questions of any possible witnesses, administering CPR, chest compressions, deploying the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and calling the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) which arrived after five minutes.
 
(More in today’s Daily Observer)