EMS treats nearly 300,000 victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year. Unfortunately, less than eight percent of people who suffer cardiac arrest outside the hospital survive to make it home from the hospital. We can change this if more people simply learned CPR. A victim’s chance of survival doubles or triples if someone in the vicinity knows and administers CPR.
Surprisingly, students don’t learn this lifesaving skill in school. CPR training in schools makes perfect sense if we want to prepare students for health emergencies. They can learn how to recognize cases of sudden cardiac arrest and save lives.
I was thrilled to learn that Senator Kemp Hannon is a sponsor of a bill that would change this. Since the American Heart Association’s 2010 revised CPR guidelines make it even easier for more people to perform CPR, it’s time for students to learn CPR before they graduate — a change that would put thousands of qualified lifesavers on our streets every year.
I hope the legislature gets this right and passes this bill this year!
Martha Stark
American Heart Association
Long Island Board Member
