A reason a day to teach CPR in Schools

Beginning today, American Heart Association “So Many Reasons” campaign illustrates the critical need to learn CPR

Kevin Foord of Suffern is one of the 22 reasons the American Heart Association wants the state Legislature to pass the CPR in Schools bill this year.  Starting today, Monday, May 5, with 22 legislative session days remaining, the American Heart Association launches its “So Many Reasons” campaign. Each day, the American Heart Association will share a real story of a New Yorker impacted by sudden cardiac arrest.

“I had a sudden cardiac arrest when I was just 49 years old,” said Foord. “My daughter had learned CPR as a teenager, and saved me. It wasn’t a miracle, it was CPR.  Since then, I have walked her down the aisle and become a grandfather twice over. I’m one of the lucky ones.  We need to pass this bill so that those who suffer sudden cardiac arrest don’t miss out on the important – and the everyday – events of life.”

Foord is the first reason of the campaign which will continue each and every legislative day until the CPR in Schools legislation is passed. Lawmakers will receive a one-page document with a photo of someone saved by CPR, someone lost to sudden cardiac arrest, or someone who lost a loved one to sudden cardiac arrest. A rally is planned for June 3 with the unveiling of a survivors’ gallery and a mass CPR demonstration at the Legislative Office building.

“CPR is a lifesaving solution,” said Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, D-Long Beach. “As a former police officer, school administrator and lifeguard, I know firsthand that we need bystander CPR to save lives. Many people are alive today because individuals trained in CPR — including youth and adults who received that training in school — gave someone CPR until EMTs arrived. I’m committed to passing the CPR in Schools bill so that we can create a generation in which New Yorkers are prepared to save lives.”

“Schools prepare students with essential life skills, and CPR skills are among the most critical lifesaving skills that make our communities safer, year after year, said Sen. Mark Grisanti, R-Buffalo. “It’s time to add New York to the growing list of states that have passed this legislation. I’m honored to sponsor the CPR schools legislation in the New York State Senate and I am proud to work in partnership with the American Heart Association and families in western New York to help make this bill become a law.”

“Every year, 424,000 people suffer sudden cardiac arrest outside the hospital,” said Dan Moran, chair of the American Heart Association’s New York State Advocacy Committee. “Would you know what to do if someone collapsed in front of you? Teaching CPR in schools will save lives. When I meet people who were dead, really, with sudden cardiac arrest, and I hear everything they’ve done since being saved, you see that the CPR in Schools bill isn’t just a bill – it’s life.”Image

An updated version of the CPR in Schools legislation (A9298/S7096) has recently been introduced and is currently in the Education Committees in both houses.

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