Maui teen sets up CPR class center
By Christie Wilson
Neighbor Island Editor
WAILUKU, Maui — An interest in medicine and the near loss of his father from a choking incident inspired 15-year-old Alex Baker not only to get trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but to open a center where he could train others in the life-saving technique.
Baker, a sophomore at Seabury Hall, in May became the youngest American Heart Association training center director in Hawai'i. On Saturday he conducted the first of his monthly CPR classes for the public, and is preparing a program to teach it to sophomores at Maui high schools.
Baker
"It's amazing. You will not find a young person being the director of training center," said registered nurse Hew Zane of Maui Memorial Medical Center, who trained Baker.
Baker's father is Dr. Bobby Baker, head of the Pacific Cancer Institute at the Maui hospital. The elder Baker said his son witnessed the benefits of CPR when the physician revived heart-attack victims on several occasions.
Then last December, Dr. Baker was at an employee Christmas party when he began choking on a piece of meat. Partygoers tried the Heimlich maneuver on him a number of times before the airway obstruction was finally dislodged. To perform the Heimlich maneuver, a rescuer wraps his or her arms around the victim's waist from behind, and uses a fist to press into the upper abdomen with a quick upward thrust.
Dr. Baker said he later found out just how lucky he was, when he learned that the survival rate is very low after three to five unsuccessful thrusts, because most of the air will have been pushed out of the lungs. He said he also learned that most people, even some medical professionals, do not know how to perform the maneuver correctly.
Alex wasn't at the party, but his father's account of how he nearly died affected him deeply. "It gave him a new chance. You just don't know what life has in store for you around the corner," the teenager said.
The younger Baker decided he wanted to learn CPR and the Heimlich maneuver, and share that knowledge with others. But Zane said CPR and first-aid classes are not widely available to the Maui public on a regular basis. Zane runs an American Heart Association training center at Maui Memorial, but it is largely for hospital staff.
He said he became familiar with Alex from CPR courses the teen took and knew he was a sincere and responsible young man. Zane agreed to help Baker set up the training center at the Pacific Cancer Institute.
"Alex wanted to be a CPR instructor but the only way he could is to open his own training center," Zane said.
To get certified as an American Heart Association training center, Baker had to find a facility, obtain training materials and equipment, line up liability insurance, prepare the necessary documentation, and undergo two on-site reviews.
Baker plans to conduct half-day CPR classes on the third Saturday of each month in the cancer institute's conference room, with Zane running a companion first-aid class. The cost is $35 for each class, which covers materials and other out-of-pocket expenses.
Zane said the American Heart Association is providing books and materials for the high-school program and, with help from other instructors, they hope to start CPR lessons in health classes this year.
"If we can teach an entire sophomore class CPR every year, eventually every person who graduated high school from Maui will know CPR," Zane said.
Baker, who spent part of the summer shadowing doctors at Maui Memorial for a possible career in medicine, also is active in the Boy Scouts and enjoys hiking, camping, playing piano and writing. He said he recently completed a teen adventure novel.
For details on the CPR and first-aid classes, call Zane at (808) 243-4651.
Reach Christie Wilson at cwilson@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
