CCSO Spotlights National CPR/AED Awareness Week

Cpl. Scott Pepin was on patrol in East Naples when he was dispatched to a call of an 81-year-old man who was not breathing.

When Cpl. Pepin arrived at the man’s residence, he found the man unconscious on the floor.

Cpl. Pepin used his Collier County Sheriff’s Office-issued automated external defibrillator (AED) and CPR to resuscitate him.

The eight-year CCSO veteran’s quick response and professional application of lifesaving procedures were crucial in saving the man’s life Oct. 27, 2013.

On Monday, Cpl. Pepin was one of three deputies honored with a CCSO Lifesaving Award at a brief ceremony during the monthly supervisors meeting in front of their CCSO colleagues at the Professional Development Center, 615 Third Ave. S. Naples.
Cpl. Ralph Scala and Cpl. Manuel Decastro were also honored for their professional use of emergency lifesaving techniques.

National CPR and AED Awareness Week is June 1-7, and spotlights how lives can be saved if more Americans know CPR and how to use an AED.

Thanks to a partnership with the American Heart Association, all CCSO patrol cars are equipped with an AED, a portable device that applies electrical therapy to patients in cardiac arrest and allows the heart to re-establish an effective rhythm.

Since 2012, CCSO has partnered with Collier County EMS/Fire Rescue in an information system to assist 911 dispatchers in helping callers locate AEDs near sudden cardiac arrest victims.

CCSO also offers free CPR and AED training to the community.

The agency provides free "hands-only’’ cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and AED training to homeowner groups and any member of the community who would like to learn how to save a life. The classes follow the American Heart Association’s CPR curriculum. The time it takes to teach the classes varies, depending on the level of certification being sought.

Community members or groups that would like to learn basic hands-only CPR should contact Cpl. William Pschigoda at (239) 252-9448, or william.pschigoda@colliersheriff.org to set up a class date and time. Classes are free.

Additional classes are also taught by other local American Heart Association instructors. These instructors are available through Collier County EMS, any of the fire agencies in Collier County as well as the education department at NCH Naples Hospital.