5 Minutes Can Save a Life

What can you do with five minutes? Perhaps you can declutter your desk, or check your email. For travelers at Dayton International Airport, five spare minutes is all it takes to learn how to save a life.

In August, a new Hands-Only CPR Training Kiosk was installed in the airport’s Concourse A, thanks to funds provided by The Heart Institute of Dayton (THID) and collaborative efforts between THID, the Miami Valley Division of the American Heart Association, and Dayton International Airport.

“This folds right into our mission of improving the health of the communities we serve,” said 

Eloise Broner, president, Good Samaritan Hospital (closed in 2018). “When we talk about impacting the health of 

our communities, we touch the lives of patients and family members every day. But this is actually helping to teach the community how to touch the lives of those they come in contact with by educating and empowering them to take action, if needed.”

The kiosk features an interactive touchscreen, a short instructional video, and the opportunity to practice on a rubber torso with audio and visual feedback to help participants learn as they practice.

“This is a computer-assisted program that measures how deeply you push, how frequently you push, and it tells you whether you’re doing it correctly or not,” said David Joffe, MD, president of THID.

The kiosk has already drawn significant interest as nearly 700 people interacted with it during its first three months of operation. Though it is difficult to measure its long-term impact, the Dayton community was already well aware of the power of this tool.

In the spring of 2015, a University of Dayton student used hands-only CPR to save the life of a fellow student who had been struck by lightning, using training he’d received at a similar kiosk at the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

That potentially tragic event became a powerful catalyst to bring a kiosk to the area, and Good Samaritan Hospital, THID and Dayton International Airport began working together to make the dream a reality. The airport was a natural fit since more than 2 million people pass through its terminals every year, and 56 percent of those travelers walk through the concourse where the kiosk is housed.

“We have such a unique environment that allows us to reach travelers coming and going,” said Terry Slaybaugh, director of aviation, Dayton International Airport. “It attracts people of all ages. Families began interacting with it on the very first day it was installed.”

The ability to engage people is a key factor for reaching a public that faces so many other distractions.  “This ties perfectly into our mission of cardiovascular education,” said 

Dr. Joffe. “I like to tell folks, if one life is saved, then it’s totally worth it.”