Donation of CPR in Schools Kits empowers Hudson High students

Donation of CPR in Schools Kits empowers Hudson High students

On Monday, Dec. 6, Columbia Memorial Health donated an American Heart Association CPR in Schools Kit to Hudson High School in Hudson. From left, Sharon Horton, the American Heart Association; Isaiah Mainas, student; Dorothy Urschel, Chief Operating Officer, Columbia Memorial Health; students Rafia Tasnim, Jonathan Bernockie and Matthew Antonelli; and head of Physical Education at Hudson, Jeanine Millar, gather with the kit on the 6th. The kit contains 10 mannikins, instructional DVDs, and kneeling pads. The kits will help Hudson High School comply with the New York State law requiring all New York graduates to have learned Hands-Only CPR.

In 2018, nearly 400,000 people suffered sudden cardiac arrest. Seventy percent of those happen in a home or residence, and survival rates remain around 10 percent.

Having CPR performed doubles or triples a victim’s chances of survival. That’s why the American Heart Association worked to pass the CPR in Schools Law in New York, which took effect in 2015. That law requires every graduate of a New York state high school to have learned Hands-Only CPR.

Columbia Memorial Health (CMH) is making it easier for students to be part of New York’s army of lifesavers with its donation of a CPR in Schools kit to Hudson High School. The kit, donated on Monday, Dec. 6, provides 10 separate mannikins, instructions and kneeling pads.

 “It’s critically important to ensure CPR training is continually provided to our population,” said Dorothy Urschel, CMH’s Chief Operating Office. “The American Heart Association is a national and local leader in providing the expertise, support and equipment necessary to maintain a cadre of trained lifesavers who can step in at moment’s notice. We are very proud to again support their efforts, and even more proud of the students in our region who are stepping up to look after their family, friends and community by learning CPR.” 

“The generous donation of CPR kits from the American Heart Association and Columbia Memorial Hospital to the Hudson Senior High School will benefit our students for years to come,” Hudson City School District Physical Education Department Head Jeanine Millar said. “We share the AHA & CMH’s commitment to a safe and healthy lifestyle by ensuring our students are given an opportunity twice each year to learn Hands-Only CPR and AED use. The addition of the CPR kits will increase the practice time and knowledge base of our classes. Many of our students have used this first exposure to the medical field as a springboard to various careers in health care including nursing, lifeguarding, EMT, Fire personal, physical therapists, & doctors. We look forward to continuing to work with the AHA and CMH in the future.” 

“It’s great to see Columbia Memorial Health empowering Hudson High School students,” said Jennifer Corcoran Conway, partner at Tully Rinckey and chair of the Capital Region Board of Directors of the American Heart Association. “The American Heart Association’s science has shown that Hands-Only CPR is an effective way to help save a life while waiting for EMS to respond. We’re all spending more time at home, which is where most sudden cardiac arrests occur, and we can change the devastating statistic about sudden cardiac arrest survival by training students in this essential skill.”