Lindsay Owens. Monday, March 30, 2015 2:25 PM.
Learning to save lives. Washington Times Herald.
Retrieved from http://www.washtimesherald.com/
Joshua Hulsey practices on a CPR dummy during health class at Washington High School. Kelly Overton | Times Herald
Students required to learn CPR
Students in health classes at Washington High School have spent the days leading up to spring break learning something that could impact lives forever, CPR. Since March 2014, it has been a state law that all Indiana school districts must provide one-time CPR and automatic external defibrillator or AED instruction as part of the health class curriculum.
For the requirement from the state to be met, schools must use an instructional program developed by the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association or that is based on the most current national evidence-based emergency cardiovascular care guidelines for CPR and AEDs.
WHS students were instructed by school nurse Jo Ann Meece, with assistance from health teacher Barb Knepp, and learned the American Heart Association version of the course over three days.
“We are borrowing the equipment from the Daviess County Health Department,” said Knepp, who said prior to the state law, WHS students were certified in CPR, but the certification stopped due the cost and lack of equipment. “We’ve always watched videos on CPR, but for awhile we weren’t able to offer the certification.”
Meece said this is the second time this school year CPR has been taught to the students since a grant was obtained from the Daviess County Community Foundation to help cover some of the costs.
“Students pay $3 to get certified and they can get their card at school,” she said.
Each of the practice mannequins cost roughly $200 each and to offer the course, additional supplies such as mouth barriers are needed. The school borrowed 12 of the mannequins for students to practice.
Knepp and Meece said they hope one day the school corporation can eventually purchase its own set of practice mannequins.
“The equipment is expensive,” said Meece. “But if we had our own equipment, it could be used not only with students earning their certification in the health classes, but also for teacher re-certifications.”
Each of the students, most of whom were sophomores, learned adult, infant and child CPR, how to use an AED and the Heimlich Maneuver.
“We are really trying to put law into practice,” said Meece, adding that adult and child CPR are very similar with the exception of the size of the mouth barriers that are used and in some cases, the AEDs, but infant CPR is a little different.
Indiana is just one of about two dozens states that has made CPR classes not only an invaluable skill, but a required one, according to information at schoolcpr.com. In 2014, the Hoosier state, along with Illinois, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Nevada and New Jersey all have legislation for the CPR requirement.
