DATE: Friday, March 21, 1997                TAG: 9703190193

SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS     PAGE: 03   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: CAROLE O'KEEFFE, CORRESPONDENT 

                                            LENGTH:   72 lines

CPR SATURDAY DRAWS THOSE WHO WANT TO LEARN HOW TO SAVE LIVES IN PORTSMOUTH, 50 PEOPLE IN TWO LOCATIONS LEARN HOW TO DO CPR.

Joyce and Bill Jonak, both active and in their 60s, wanted to be able to help each other in case cardiac arrest cut short an activity they enjoy, such as a hike in the Great Dismal Swamp or fishing in the Chesapeake Bay River.

Such areas are out of the way. There are no phones, and no rescue squad standing by.

As an extra precaution, Joyce Jonak encouraged her parents, Jesse Overton, 94, and Lucy Overton, 88, who live in the Cradock section of Portsmouth, to take the American Red Cross CPR class as well. An emergency for either of them could be right around the corner.

The Jonaks and Overtons were taking part in CPR Saturday, a statewide Red Cross event held March 15. In Portsmouth, more than 50 people were taught CPR throughout the day, at the chapter headquarters, 700 London Blvd., and at the Girls Club on Portsmouth Boulevard.

Dorothy Bazemore and her sister, Louise Hasty, both of Portsmouth, wanted to take the CPR class just so they could help someone in need.

The Jonaks, who live in Norfolk, had several reasons for taking the class. ``I felt like we needed to know it,'' Bill said.

Plus, the location was handy - the Red Cross chapter office on London Boulevard. The cost was $10, half what it usually is.

The Jonaks have several young grandchildren, and they wanted to be prepared in case one of them should choke. Now, they know what to do in such an emergency.

Most people who attended Saturday's classes, however, did so because their jobs require the certification. For some, the classes were required in connection with their schooling.

Walter Wales, a retired Virginia Beach firefighter, taught one of the classes at the Red Cross headquarters.

The first 10 minutes of a rescue effort, before the paramedics arrive, are the most critical, Wales said during the class. During that time, someone familiar with rescue breathing and heart massage can make the difference between life and death.

During the first four minutes after a victim stops breathing, clinical death occurs, Wales told his class. ``This can be reversed,'' he said. ``We can bring them back.''

During the next six minutes, brain damage begins, ``but we can still save them,'' he said.

``You don't have to have a (certification) card to do CPR,'' Wales told the group of a dozen or so students. ``You don't have to worry about doing something wrong. They're dead.''

Wales encouraged them to try to help in an emergency. If they attempt to help a person who isn't breathing or whose heart has stopped, Wales said, the victim might die anyway. But if they don't help, if they're not willing to make a mistake or two, the chances that the person will die are significantly greater.

During the class, instructional dummies were strewn about the floor, on tables and couches.

Students were taught to check the environment for safety and then to find out what was wrong with the dummies, by finding the answers to several questions: Are they breathing? Is their heart beating? Is the airway obstructed?

They learned what to do if an answer was no.

When they were done, those who passed got certificates.

``We teach them, this is what to do,'' said Pat L. Poslik, director of health and safety services for Portsmouth and west Chesapeake chapters. ILLUSTRATION: Photos by CAROLE O'KEEFFE

Above, Walter Wales, a retired Virginia Beach firefighter, teaches

CPR for the Red Cross in his spare time. On Saturday, he was one of

the instructors who participated in CPR Saturday.

Left, Joyce Jonak gets some pointers on performing CPR from Tricia

Boston, an instructor.

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