Priority Moving is proud to announce that all of our movers and staff have undergone CPR/AED/First Aid training and are certified lifesavers. As the owner of this Portland moving company I felt it was important for our staff to learn CPR and First Aid for safety reasons. As you may imagine, moving is difficult work and there are many possibilities for injury on the job. Of course we take every precaution to avoid injury but there is always the slight chance that an accident could occur. In the event of an accident or a life threatening emergency Priority Moving and it’s staff will be ready to respond.

     Let me tell you a story about an incident that happened 2 years ago. I was at a local Beaverton restaurant with my wife for dinner. We had been to this place several times before and nothing alarmed me that this night would be much different from the other times we had visited. We placed our orders and talked about the days events. Soon, our food arrived and we began eating. No sooner than 3 bites into our meal a commotion started a few tables away from us. People were getting out of their seats very excited and there was panic in the air. A man at the table to our right was choking. He could not get ANY air. There were about 80 people in the restaurant gathering around. Everyone was full of panic and stood helpless as this man began to turn different shades of red, purple, and finally blue. One brave waiter got behind the choking victim and put his arms around his chest and started squeezing him repeatedly. I was relieved to think the waiter knew the Heimlich manuever... but unfortunately he did not. He was unsuccessfully trying to recreate what he had probably seen on television. The victim was running out of time. Over one minute had passed now. I looked over to my wife who was a nursing student and trained in CPR/First Aid and asked her to help. She rushed over the the victim and attempted to gain access to the choking man. The waiter would not stop with his vain attempts. The crowd yelled for her to get away and let the waiter proceed. I yelled that she was a nursing student and could help. Still resistance. She became more aggressive and informed the waiter that if he did not let her perform the procedure that this man would surely die. The waiter backed off. My wife performed the Heimlich on this man for what seemed like eternity but in reality was about 15 seconds. For a second, a disturbing realization came over me as I came to the acceptance that today I would have to watch this man die and I stood helpless and unable to save him. At that moment he collapsed onto the table. I thought he went unconscious from lack of oxygen but with the final thrust my wife had dislodged the food from his windpipe. He collapsed from exhaustion. His breathing was heavy and a relief came over the restaurant at once. What seemed like a death sentence for this man was reversed by proper training and the ability to remain calm in a life threatening situation. I was very thankful for my wife’s training at that moment. She has since become a certified CPR/AED/First Aid instructor serving the Portland Metro Area and surrounding cities.

     That moment in the restaurant 2 years ago in Beaverton made an impact on us both. It only takes one person with the right training to save a life and you never know when you or someone else will be faced with a life threatening situation. The staff at Priority Moving were excited with the idea having the ability to react and save a life in an emergency situation. We are often in and out of retirement and adult foster care homes in the Portland, Beaverton, and Hillsboro areas.  It is often that our customers disclose health issues or concerns to us as well. Many of our staff have young children or infants at home. We take pride in knowing that we can keep our families, customers, and our Portland Oregon community safe by being educated in First Aid/CPR. 

     Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. If you are interested in becoming certified for CPR/AED and First Aid training please go to http://www.portlandcprservices.com or call 503-473-9707 and  find out how you can become a lifesaver. Ask for Tes. She will be happy to offer you a 15% discount for the training if you mention this blog.