1st Choice 

Emergency & Safety Training

June 2, 2011 will forever be remembered as the day that changed the overall landscape of Rodneisha E. McMillan’s life.

As McMillan’s recalls, it was supposed to have been a jubilant, festive day, considering it was her birthday.

Then, just like that, a rather shocking, life-altering turn of events had transpired.

“I had a hemorrhagic stroke on my 30th birthday,” McMillan, during an interview this week with Making Headline News said, recalling the memorable, tear-jerking developments that could have very well given way to a premature death. “I was experiencing a terrible headache, so I took some medicine and laid down.”........

To continue this article and read other inspiring stories from small business owners visit the following link:

https://makingheadlinenews.com/2020/06/23/mid-south-businesswoman-rodneisha-e-mcmillan-survives-a-potentially-fatal-experience-emerges-as-a-successful-entrepreneur/

Member Spotlight: Rodneisha McMillan - 1st Choice Emergency & Safety Training - OE Flowood, MS

The Spotlight’s on Rodneisha McMillan, owner of 1st Choice Emergency & Safety Training

Are you a dreamer, risk-taker, or a doer?

YES to all three, since as a thirty-three-year-old single mom with four children, I went full-time with my CPR Training business. Everybody thought I was silly and irresponsible because I had just recently obtained my degree—I thought it was silly and irresponsible that I had racked up 100k in student loan debt for a degree that was only attracting $10-$12 an hour job positions.

As fellow entrepreneurs, we would love to hear about your business.

I am a CPR and first aid instructor who provides training for the community and essential healthcare workers nationwide. On June 2, 2011—my 30th birthday—I had a hemorrhagic stroke. I experienced a terrible headache, took some medicine, then laid down. I woke up three days later in the ICU fully intubated. After my recovery in 2012, I started 1st Choice EST LLC not only to educate the community, but also to have control over my health and time.

On July 10, 2019, the American Heart Association published an article stating, "African American children who live in poor neighborhoods are significantly less likely to receive bystander CPR during a cardiac arrest than white children.” To address this concern, I have recently founded the African American CPR Foundation. My mission is to increase the likelihood of bystander CPR for African American children in poor neighborhoods throughout the US.

Who is your ideal customer?

Corporations, community members, and churches. Really anyone who is able bodied should know how and when to properly perform CPR.

What are your top tips for entrepreneurial success?

JUST. DO. YOU! Everybody has opinions, but only you truly know your restrictions, capabilities and excuses. Don't let noise from others block out the sounds of what only you can tell yourself! It's YOUR risk to take! Dream BIG but do MORE!

For more information on Rodneisha's business in OE Flowood, MS please visit www.1stchoiceest.org.

Written by: Jeff Hensiek

To teach AHA courses involving adult CPR, you will be required, as of January 31, 2019, to use manikins or devices that feature an instrumented directive feedback device (IDFD), providing real-time feedback on student CPR performance.

The AHA requirement:

"By January 31, 2019, the AHA will require the use of an instrumented directive feedback device or manikin in all AHA courses that teach the skills of adult CPR. Specifically, an instrumented directive feedback device or manikin is one that, at a minimum, provides audio or visual (or both) feedback on the rate and depth of compressions during CPR training."

https://review.channing-bete.com/AHA/AHA_Feedback_Device_Requirements.pdf" target="_blank">See the entire document.

Why this new requirement?

Research by experts in the field has shown that real-time feedback on adult CPR performance significantly increases students' ability to perform quality CPR -- specifically, to achieve the recommended rate of 100-120 compressions per minute and the recommended compression depth

of 2 inches.

Which AHA courses are involved?

Basic Life Support (BLS)

Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS)

Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support for Experienced Providers (ACLS EP)

Heartsaver® First Aid CPR AED

Heartsaver® CPR AED

The requirement applies to both U.S. and international training, adult CPR only.

How do I know if my manikins comply?

All major manufacturers are working to find ways to incorporate the feedback requirements into their adult manikins, either by building in electronic feedback capabilities or by developing add-on equipment. Many already have. 

To comply, your existing adult manikins must feature:

a clicker or any other device that gives audio or visual feedback to indicate compression depth, and

audio or visual feedback indicating a compression rate of 100-120 compressions per minute, through either exact numbers or lights that illuminate progressively.

How do I know if new manikins I purchase comply?

We clearly label all compliant manikins on this Web site:

"Meets the AHA CPR feedback device requirements"

Which manikins comply with the new requirements?

Please note: AHA does not endorse or recommend any specific equipment to meet the requirements.

Use this family tree to map out your family's health history. Identify family members who have lived with diabetes or other serious health conditions. Then, talk with your healthcare provider about what this means to you and others in your family.

http://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@hcm/documents/downloadable/ucm_314410.pdf

The American Heart Association suggests at least 150 minutes per week of moderate exercise or 75 minutes per week of vigorous exercise (or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity). Thirty minutes a day, five times a week is an easy goal to remember. And, it is a goal you can reach.

 

Power Ambassador Ashanti and her team of trainers have put together a series of workout videos to help you meet that goal! Today is the day to begin your journey toward a healthier you!

http://www.empoweredtoserve.org/index.php/workout-videos/

Dial 9-1-1 Fast

Heart attack and stroke are life-and-death emergencies — every second counts. If you see or have any of the listed symptoms, immediately call 9-1-1 or your emergency response number. Not all these signs occur in every heart attack or stroke. Sometimes they go away and return. If some occur, get help fast! Today heart attack and stroke victims can benefit from new medications and treatments unavailable to patients in years past. For example, clot-busting drugs can stop some heart attacks and strokes in progress, reducing disability and saving lives. But to be effective, these drugs must be given relatively quickly after heart attack or stroke symptoms first appear. So again, don't delay — get help right away!

Read more below:

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/911-Warnings-Signs-of-a-Heart-Attack_UCM_305346_SubHomePage.jsp

1st Choice Emergency & Safety Training has heard it through the grapevine that Publix has put Philips Brand AED's in all 1,134 store locations and had various members of their team get American Heart Association CPR/AED training! I spoke with a member of management today at one of my local stores. When I mentioned that I was an instructor and had heard what Publix decided to do her face lit up and she said, "This was the first time I left a CPR class and felt confident that I could really help someone!"

This video is a perfect example on how they are involved in helping their local community.

Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs)

improve survival after an out-of-hospital cardiac

arrest. Their presence reduces the critical time for

treatment. Less time to defibrillation improves

victims’ chances of survival. Having the devices

appropriately located in a business or workplace

improves the survivability of people experiencing a

cardiac crisis.

Why should employers make Automated

External Defibrillators available to

employees?

■ There are 300,000-400,000 deaths per year

in the United States from cardiac arrest.

■ Most cardiac arrest deaths occur outside the

hospital. Current out-of-hospital survival rates

are 1 to 5 percent.

■ In 1999 and 2000, 815 of 6,339 workplace

fatalities reported to OSHA were caused by

cardiac arrest.

■ Jobs with shift work, high stress, and exposure

to certain chemicals and electrical hazards

increase the risks of heart disease and cardiac

arrest.

What causes cardiac arrest, and how

does an AED improve survivability?

■ Abnormal heart rhythms, with ventricular

fibrillation (VF) being the most common,

cause cardiac arrest.

U.S. Department of Labor

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

OSHA 3174 (2001)

■ Treatment of VF with immediate electronic

defibrillation can increase survival to more

than 90 percent.

■ With each minute of delay in defibrillation,

10 percent fewer victims survive.

Is AED equipment expensive?

■ The average initial cost for an AED ranges

from $3,000 to $4,500.

Are AEDs difficult to use?

■ AEDs are easy to use. In mock cardiac arrest,

untrained sixth-grade children were able to

use AEDs without difficulty.

■ Automated external defribrillators are effective,

easy to use, and relatively inexpensive.