Hospital Creating Next Era of Lifesavers
Posted on Friday, October 30th, 2015
Clinic Director Connie Barker (third from left) looks
on as Love County EMS Paramedic Dennis Frazier
gives CPR training tips to senior class presidents
Allie Foster, Turner High School, Shae McCage,
Thackerville High School, and Jesse Scott, Marietta
High School. The students are pictured with training
DVDs and the American Heart Association CPR in
Schools training kit.
All three Love County high schools will implement a CPR in Schools program to train students in CPR skills thanks to a generous donation from Mercy Health/Love County Hospital, Clinic, and EMS. The $15,000 donation made it possible for Thackerville, Turner,e and Marietta High Schools to be presented American Heart Association CPR in Schools training kits.
"CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim's chance of survival," said Connie Barker, Clinic Director. "We are pleased to partner with the American Heart Association and our schools to start training students in the lifesaving skill."
More than 326,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year. About 90 percent of those victims die, often because bystanders don't know how to start CPR or are afraid they'll do something wrong.
"schools are integral parts of our communities and teaching life-saving CPR will help increase bystander CPR across all communities and in turn empower more people to act in an emergency and help save a life," Barker said. "Teaching students CPR before they graduate will put qualified lifesavers in the community, year after year, and we are thrilled to be part of those efforts."
Beginning the 2015-2016 school year, Oklahoma will require CPR training prior to high school graduation. The CPR in Schools bill (HB 1378) was signed into law in May 2014 making Oklahoma the 16th state to implement the graduation requirement.
"It s a real community service the hospital is providing with these training kits," said Bill Godwin, Turner High School principal. "They have made quite a gift to help us meet the obligation to train our graduating class in CPR."
In the training, students practice on a Mini-Annie Plus manikin while watching CPR skills on a training DVD. Students can take home a manikin and DVD to train family, too. The training kit for each school contains 10 manikins and ample replacement supplies to be used year after year into the future.