Camarillo Boy Scouts teach handy lifesaving method

June 3 event at library will teach ‘sidewalk CPR’



LIFESAVING—For his Eagle Scout project, Aidan Compton of Troop 262 is teaching hands-only CPR at workshops around Camarillo. Aidan will host a training session June 3 at the Camarillo Public Library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Courtesy photo

LIFESAVING—For his Eagle Scout project, Aidan Compton of Troop 262 is teaching hands-only CPR at workshops around Camarillo. Aidan will host a training session June 3 at the Camarillo Public Library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Courtesy photo

At about 100 beats per minute, the Bee Gees’ disco anthem “Stayin’ Alive” took the movie “Saturday Night Fever” to box office success and inspired millions of people to step onto dance floors across the United States.

But for Aidan Compton, Peter Schafer and Ethan Belkin of Boy Scout Troop 262, the 1977 hit can also help prevent death for brothers and mothers alike.

The 14-year-old best friends, students at Las Colinas Middle School, are using the song to help teach hands-only CPR to the community for Aidan’s Eagle Scout project.

The 103 beats per minute of the song are close to the recommended chest compression rate of 100 every 60 seconds while performing CPR.

The boys said traditional CPR, which involves mouth to mouth resuscitation along with chest compressions, can be difficult to learn. Aidan said it took an eight-hour class for him to be certified in traditional CPR, while “sidewalk CPR,” as hands-only is also called, takes only about five minutes to learn.

And the easier the process is to learn, the more people who will be able to save lives, Aidan said.

“Hands-only CPR performed by your average guy would be more effective than someone who doesn’t really know what they’re doing trying conventional CPR,” Aidan said.

Through depictions in movies and television shows, people sometimes think CPR is used to bring people back to life. That’s partly true, the boys said, but more often CPR is used to keep someone alive until medical professionals can put their training and knowledge to work.

But it takes time for the professionals to get there, so the boys want to train as many “average Joes” as they can to save as many lives as possible.

“You’re going to start doing CPR, but you’re going to get someone to call the paramedics right away. You’re trying to keep them alive as long as possible so the paramedics can come and do it themselves,” Peter said.

Ethan said saving lives, especially in the event of health emergencies like cardiac arrest, is what drew him in.

“When I heard that Aidan was doing CPR training, I was all over it. I wanted to help,” Ethan said.

The typical Eagle Scout project usually involves building or repairing something to benefit the community, but the boys think training events like this can have a larger impact and benefit more people as the knowledge spreads and lives are saved.

“This opens up more possibilities (for future Eagle Scout projects), things that will help the community and last a lot longer,” Peter said.

The boys are planning multiple events around Camarillo where they will use CPR dummies to teach members of the public how to perform chest compressions.

In preparation for the first event, which will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sun., June 3 at the Camarillo Public Library, 4101 Las Posas Road, Aidan and Ethan taught the technique to about 30 classmates earlier this week, and the boys plan to take those lessons schoolwide.

Aidan is also trying to raise funds on the crowdfunding site Red Basket so he can purchase CPR dummies and other supplies. As of Tuesday he had raised $360 toward his $500 goal.

Donations can be made to Aidan’s project at redbasket.org/1679/saving-lives-withsidewalk cpr.