Last year, CalvertHealth Medical Center became the first
hospital in the state of Maryland to formally initiate the
American Heart Association’s Infant CPR Anytime®
Training Program - aimed at educating parents on
lifesaving techniques before they leave the hospital with
their baby. In addition to the on-site training, new parents
also take home a training DVD and practice manikin so
they can share the knowledge with other family members
or caregivers. “Our goal is to train 100 percent of parents
on what to do if a child is choking, nonresponsive or not
breathing – before they leave the hospital,” said President
and CEO Dean Teague. “So important, in fact, the medical
center covers the entire cost of the kit,” he added.
On September 30, 2019, Ellison put the training she
received into action when her son, Miles, was unable to
breathe. “I was home alone with Miles, watching as he
played on the living room floor – just a few feet away from
me. One minute he was happily playing, the next, he was in
distress – unable to breathe. Panic set in immediately and
I realized there was no one to help in that moment. It was
only me,” recalled Ellison, who delivered Miles at CHMC in
March 2019.
Baby Miles was choking and after several attempts,
Renee was able to dislodge the piece of plastic from his
airway and then remove the object from his mouth. “I am so
unbelievably grateful I was required to receive this training.
As a brand-new mom, I was exhausted and felt a little silly
having to perform CPR on the dummy baby before I could
be discharged from the hospital. In retrospect, I know that
motherhood is a job and all jobs require some training and
CPR is training you should have right off the bat!”
As a result of this incident, Ellison and her partner,
Keith, are both becoming CPR certified and will require all
caregivers to be certified as well. They are also utilizing the
DVD and manikin they brought home with them from the hospital to train Miles’ older brother, Kaleb, age 10, what
to do in an emergency. “Babies and children are not the
only ones who choke. I hope that becoming CPR certified
will allow me to be an asset to anyone around me who is
in need,” said Ellison.