Life-saving training tools provided to York County schools

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CPR in Schools kit donation to Dallastown Area High School. From left to right: Theresa McBride, school engagement director, American Heart Association; Gregory Thoman, health and physical education teacher, Dallastown Area High School; Mary Heltzel, senior vice president of investments at Stifel and co-chair of the 2024 York Heart Ball; and Gail Frassetta, development director, American Heart Association.

CPR, especially if performed immediately, could double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival[1]. However, 70% of respondents in a recent consumer survey said they were not confident they would respond with CPR in a cardiac emergency.

That is why the American Heart Association, the worldwide leader in resuscitation science and education, along with York Heart Ball sponsor, Stifel, recently presented CPR in Schools Training Kits to Dallastown Area High School and Northeastern High School in York County. The CPR in Schools Training Kits contain everything needed to facilitate CPR, AED and first aid training for hundreds of students including video-based instruction, inflatable practice manikins and an AED training simulator.

“The American Heart Association’s Nation of Lifesavers initiative has set a goal of doubling the survival of cardiac arrest by 2030,” said Gail Frassetta, development director for the American Heart Association in York County. “Putting the life-saving skill of Hands-Only CPR into the hands of hundreds of local students will ensure that are people in every corner of the community who can confidently respond in the event of a cardiac emergency.”

The goal of the American Heart Association’s Nation of Lifesavers initiative is to turn bystanders into lifesavers, so that in the time of cardiac emergency anyone, anywhere is prepared and empowered to become a vital link in the chain of survival and provide CPR. Every year in the United States, there are more than 23,000 youth who experience a cardiac emergency outside of a hospital and almost 40 percent of those are sports-related.

Quick, simple and easy-to-learn, Hands-Only CPR has been shown to be as effective in the first few minutes as conventional CPR for cardiac arrest at home, at work or in public[2].

For more information about CPR training, visit cpr.heart.org.

CPR in Schools kit donation to Northeastern High School. From left to right: Mary Heltzel, vice president of investments at Stifel and co-chair of the 2024 York Heart Ball; Heath Grim, health and physical education teacher, Northeastern High School; Gail Frassetta, development director, American Heart Association; and Theresa McBride, school engagement director, American Heart Association.

Additional Resources:

[1] https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001052?utm_campaign=2023stat-update&utm_source=heart&utm_medium=link&utm_content=statshome

[2] https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001052?utm_campaign=2023stat-update&utm_source=heart&utm_medium=link&utm_content=statshome