Solanco students learn to save a life using Hands-Only CPR

CPR, especially if performed immediately, could double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival. However, 70% of respondents in a recent consumer survey said they were not confident they would respond with CPR in a cardiac emergency. With the goal of changing this statistic, the American Heart Association, the worldwide leader in resuscitation science and education, and Penn State Health Children’s Hospital recently held a Hands-Only CPR training day at Solanco High School, providing 500 students with the knowledge and confidence to save a life during a cardiac emergency using Hands-Only CPR.

Dr. John Breinholt of Penn State Health Children’s Hospital assists Solanco student learning Hands-Only CPR.
©Minick Photography LLC 2024

The day kicked off with an assembly where Dr. John Breinholt, pediatric cardiologist for Penn State Health Children’s Hospital, explained the difference between a heart attack and cardiac arrest and introduced the steps of Hands-Only CPR. Volunteer instructors from the American Heart Association, Penn State Health and the school took the lessons from the assembly back to the classroom, giving each student the opportunity to practice the new skills.

The school also received the American Heart Association’s CPR & First Aid Anywhere Training Kit, which contains everything needed to facilitate CPR, AED and first aid training for hundreds of learners including video-based instruction, inflatable practice manikins and an AED training simulator. The kit was provided as part of Penn State Health Children’s Hospital’s sponsorship of the American Heart Association’s Kids Heart Challenge initiatives in the region.

“Giving schools the ability to train their students in this important life-saving skill will have an impact that reaches far beyond the school’s campus,” said Molly Emrich, school engagement director for the American Heart Association. “Training today’s students will add hundreds of new lifesavers to our community and help the American Heart Association realize our goal of doubling cardiac arrest survival by 2030.”

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.

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

Dr. John Breinholt of Penn State Health Children’s Hospital assists Solanco student learning Hands-Only CPR.
©Minick Photography LLC 2024