Just in time for National CPR and AED Awareness Week, June 1-7, the American Heart Association (AHA) and Catholic Medical Center (CMC) are celebrating a new group of lifesavers trained in Hands-Only CPR.
As part of their Life is Why sponsorship, CMC donated nine CPR in Schools kits and several CPR Anytime kits to the following New Hampshire Schools: Auburn Village School, Belmont High School, Belmont Middle School, Berlin Middle School, ConVal Regional High School, Manchester High School (Central), McKelvie Intermediate School, Plymouth Regional High School and Winnisquam Regional Middle School.
Each donation included a Hands-Only CPR training for students and staff. After receiving instructions, participants had an opportunity to practice Hands-Only CPR, done to the tune of “Stayin’ Alive” which helps keep the right pace for compressions.
“Studies show that most out of hospital cardiac arrests happen at home and youth are often called upon to help,” said CMC Cardiologist Dr. Jonathan Eddinger, who attended the training at ConVal. “CPR and Hands-Only CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival, so we are proud to be part of this effort to train these young people.”
The CPR in Schools training kit empowers students to learn core skills in under 30 minutes and it teaches AED skills and choking relief. The easy to use kit is designed specifically for the needs of educators. It is portable and reusable. With the donation of these kits, the schools can continue to train additional students and staff for years to come. Nearly 450 people were trained during the school year. It is estimated that an additional 310 will be trained over the lifetime of these kits, or almost 2,800 additional people.
“The students were so engaged in this real life experience. They realize how important it is for them to know what to do to save a life,” said Auburn Village School Principal Lori Collins. “They may not use it until that one day when they are faced with a life-threatening situation and, because of what they learned in 7th or 8th grade, they can jump into action. Our goal is to train all our 7th and 8th graders this year and continue to train the 7th grade every year as part of our science curriculum.”
“The Hands-Only CPR training for students was amazing and I am so grateful to CMC and AHA for bring this to our school. We had about 70 students engaged and learning a very valuable skill in a short amount of time. We were also given all the materials needed to conduct hand only CPR instruction for years to come,” said Winnisquam Middle School Nurse Barbara LaBranche.
CMC will be sponsoring Hands-Only CPR training during the New Hampshire Heart Walk on June 3 in Derryfield Park. Attendees can stop by their tent and in only a few minutes, learn this life-saving skill. For more information on the Heart Walk, visit nhheartwalk.org.
For more information about Hands-Only CPR and to learn the steps, visit heart.org/handsonlycpr.