Sudden cardiac arrest, though rare, can happen to anyone at any time, and when it does, every second counts. According to the American Heart Association, immediately administering CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) after cardiac arrest can double or even triple a person’s chance of survival.
When the body goes into cardiac arrest, the heart stops, and blood and oxygen stop flowing to the brain. After only six minutes, there is a 50 percent chance of sustained brain damage. With each minute after that, chances increase by 10 percent. That’s why the sooner a person in distress receives help, the greater their chance of fully recovering.
Recognizing the importance of CPR training, Dublin City Schools, Washington Township Fire Department and Jerome Township Fire Department, work together to help high school students learn CPR and earn certification.
Classroom ready
CPR and first aid training guided by the American Heart Association’s curriculum, are integrated into high school health classes.
These health classes are mandatory and allow students to earn industry-recognized credential points toward graduation diploma seals. Furthermore, they give students the opportunity to connect with their community.
“It’s a very natural partnership for us,” says Lori Marple, Executive Director of Teaching and Learning at Dublin City Schools. “(The fire departments) enjoy being connected with the buildings they serve, and it provides students with exposure to real-world careers and community helpers that are important for them to know.”
As part of the curriculum, firefighters visit each school once a semester for two class periods to assist with the CPR training. They instruct the classes and bring the necessary equipment for students to practice their emergency response skills.
Students learn all the fundamentals of CPR – proper hand placement, compression depth, rate of compressions per minute and more – as well as the history behind the procedure and why it’s important. The students also learn how to use an AED.
According to Washington Township Assistant Fire Chief, John Donahue, more than 800 high school students will be certified by the end of the school year, thanks to the program.
The students aren’t the only ones learning new things either. Teachers are learning how to become CPR instructors to further the program’s reach.
Making an impact
Overall, the largest benefit of the initiative for both the students and staff is learning life-saving skills. Each year, roughly 436,000 Americans die from cardiac arrest, but the American Heart Association estimates that immediate CPR can save 100,000 to 200,000, or roughly 23 percent, of those lives.
For comparison, Donahue says Dublin had a successful resuscitation rate of 31.8 percent this past year, with 14 out of 44 cardiac arrest victims successfully being resuscitated and transported to the hospital.
These classes not only educate the students, they also make an impact on their lives. As Marple says, many have reached out after going through the program and shared how it helped save their lives or others.
“We have a gentleman that’s doing some volunteer work for us (Washinton Township Fire Department), he was running and went into cardiac arrest. And this is right outside of a public pool here in Dublin, he (just) collapsed,” Donahue says. “So lifeguards performed CPR, we arrived on scene and finished the resuscitation of him. And now he’s living a very successful life.”
As far as the future of the program, Dublin City Schools and both fire departments look forward to continuing their partnership, keeping the content fresh and as up-to-date as possible.
“The more people we have with the capability to perform CPR, who are also willing to do so, the more likelihood that we’ll be able to save more lives here in the Dublin community,” Donahue says.
Education For All
Knowing how to perform CPR isn’t just for teens. While not trained for certification like the high schoolers, elementary and junior high students still get exposed to the basics too through hands-only CPR training in classroom demonstrations by nurses and firefighters.
And for residents who have outgrown their schooldays, don’t fear – the Washington Township Fire Department also offers a variety of classes and programs for people of all ages. The classes include training and certification for CPR, hands-only CPR, AED, first aid and Red Cross babysitting. They are available at little to no cost, and anyone who is interested in learning is encouraged to register.
Ella Jay is an assistant editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at ejay@cityscenemediagroup.com.