Officers of the Pre-Medical Society visited the City of Pompano Beach Fire Station, where they participated in teaching a mass CPR class open to the public Dec. 1. Pre-Med adviser, Dr. Carlos Pulido, teaches CPR, trauma courses and emergency health courses to firefighters and paramedics at various fire departments across the county. Emergency Medical Services Chief Frank Galgano had wanted to hold a mass CPR training class open to the community for a long time. For weeks, Dr. Pulido worked with Galgano and other firefighters to teach a mass hands-only compression class (CPR without mouth-to-mouth) with the assistance of Pre-Med officers to more than 150 people. The audience included community emergency response team (CERT) members and everyday citizens learning how to save someone if the situation required.
“[The Pre-Med officers] were the ones physically teaching CPR to each class. It was a huge variety of people — everyone from children to CERT members to teachers and to just anyone that wanted to learn CPR,” sophomore Anisa Haffizulla, chair of the Youth Advisory Council, said.
After the actual event was over, Pre-Med volunteers were given a tour of the fire station. “We got to see their bunkers, the fire pole, the trucks and other things,” Haffizulla said.
“We also saw stuff you normally don’t see firefighters do, like helping out the community in smaller ways. Pompano Beach Fire Rescue really tries to interact with its community, so we got to see people coming to ask normal, how-to questions like ‘how to install a car seat’ and stuff. It was just nice and eye-opening to see how helpful they are the community,” junior Ebin Mathew, co-chair of the annual gala and 5K for a Better Day, added.
“I really loved the experience and especially being able to reach out to people and help them learn a skill that can save lives,” junior Valentina Ortega, co-secretary, said. “The entire event itself made me really grateful for the Pre-Med program by providing me with the opportunity to reach out to my community and make a difference.”
Pre-Med is looking to hold these CPR classes quarterly and host more people. “We’re planning to spread it out to more cities that Dr. Pulido works with, such as Lighthouse Point and Dania Beach,” Mathew said.
