CPR training tools to provide life-saving skills to Susquehanna Township School District students

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 Capital Region Heart Ball sponsor, M&T Bank, recently presented a CPR in Schools Training Kit to Susquehanna Township High School. The CPR in Schools Training Kit contains 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.

“Children as young as 9-years-old can learn CPR and they are most likely to use it to save the life of a loved one in their own home,” said Natalie Wech, senior vice president and business banking regional manager at M&T Bank. “We’ve used the American Heart Association’s training tools to teach Hands-Only CPR to our own employees and we wanted to give that same opportunity to local students.”

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.


From left to right: Dr. Tamara Willis, superintendent, Susquehanna Township School District; Jennifer Halfond, nurse, Susquehanna Township High School; David Archer, principal, Susquehanna Township High School; Natalie Wech, senior vice president and business banking regional manager, M&T Bank; Blake Milbrand, development director, American Heart Association; and Molly Emrich, school engagement director, American Heart Association.

[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