A new law could save lives

Bimi Narang saw her life flash before her eyes.

The 40-year resident of Westport was enjoying lunch at a restaurant in town when all of a sudden it happened. She began to choke on a piece of her food.

Gasping for air, she looked around in hopes that someone in the restaurant -- another customer, a waiter, bus boy, manager, someone, anyone -- would see her in distress and come to her rescue. No such luck.

Everyone just sat there and did nothing, Narang recalled.

This is apparrently a common reaction. According a study published in December 2006 in the Journal of Forensic Science, 133 deaths attributed to choking were documented by the San Diego County Medical Examiner's office between 1994 and 2004. Of the 19 choking episodes that occurred in restaurants, only one employee was documented having

attempted a resuscitative effort, the study reported.

Fortunately for Narang her fear was overcome by a determination to live, and the first-aid and CPR training skills she learned at the Westport Police Station and through courses taught by the American Red Cross kicked in. Narang gave herself the Heimlich.

This is a scenario that she hopes no one will ever have to deal with. It is also one that, in the event it does happen,

people should be prepared for.

"I personally feel that no restaurant should be allowed to operate until the manager or someone else has some sort of experience on how to save a life," Narang said.

"This has got to be brought to the attention of the public," she added. "It could happen to children."

Narang does not throw children into the mix here out of some desperate will to incite enough fear that people will jump to action on what she believes to be a critical matter of public safety in the service sector. She was the operator for many years of a childcare facility. And, in fact, that is the reason she has those life-saving skills -- it was required by law.

She wonders then, why should restaurants not be required to have on staff at all times an employee who is trained in first aid and CPR? We're curious ourselves. It just makes sense.

At the same time, though, we recognize that all theories do not necessary have a practical application. While we certainly hope that all can agree with Narang's suggestion, there are some important considerations that must be made.

Paramount among them is the potential financial burden any such law or regulation would place on restaurants. Now, as our community and nation slowly crawl from the depths of the worst recession in more than a generation, is not the time to place an unfunded mandate on our local restaurants. And, with our state facing a billion dollar budget deficit and the national debt reaching astronomical proportions, it is certainly not the time to tack on another spending bill.

Yet given the importance of this issue -- after all, every life is precious, and priceless -- we hope that our elected officials will work together to come up with a way to enact legislation that is not a financial burden to restaurants. We also hope that residents will join in supporting Narang's cause by contacting their state representatives and sharing with them their thoughts on this idea. Don't wait till your life flashes before your eyes.