At their recent monthly meeting, members of the Cumberland Cape Atlantic YMCA Board of Directors learned about a new device that saves choking victims. Board member Agnes Trummer explained the item, a Life Vac, and donated one to the Y.

“My goal is to tell local groups about the Life Vac so that these will be available all over,” Trummer said. “I have no connection to the company; this conviction is from a situation I recently experienced. I was in a health facility and the staff didn’t know how to help a choking individual who was lying down. The patient could have died. The Life Vac would have solved that problem immediately.”

Trummer is a longtime Y Board member and a self-employed human resources consultant. “This is the easiest way to save a life,” she said. “You put the mask on the choking person’s face, push down and then pull out. A simple phrase to remember is; place, push, pull. Its effectiveness has been demonstrated at 100 percent by the third pump, if that many are needed.”

Board president Kathy Farinaccio said, “We appreciate Agnes sharing this information. We hope that other organizations will follow the Y’s example and provide this life-saving measure.”

Y CEO George Steinbronn, Jr., agreed. “This is a welcome addition to the AEDs and other equipment in our facility. If the Life Vac is ever needed, it can make all the difference in someone’s life.”

Choking is the fourth leading cause of accidental death in our country. With only four to six minutes of choking, brain damage is possible; with 10 minutes, there is definite brain damage. By late October of this year, nearly 500 lives had been saved by Life Vac. “The devices cost $70 and can be purchased through Lifevac.net,” Trummer said. “I hope that we will soon see them everywhere!”

The Life Vac includes both child and adult sized masks. For information, Trummer suggests checking Lifevac.net.