When an 11-year-old Colonie Little League player was struck in the chest by a baseball Monday, April 16, his heart stopped. He survived, and early administration of CPR could have been partially to thank.
“Everyone did what they were supposed to on Monday to put the chain of survival into effect, calling 911 and starting CPR on the young man,” said Michael Dailey, regional EMS medical director and associate professor of emergency medicine at Albany Medical Center.
Dailey works closely with Colonie EMS and volunteers with the American Heart Association. He said he’s seen plenty of instances where CPR saves lives, which is why he thinks making CPR instruction a mandated part of the high school curriculum would be invaluable.
“High school kids are smart … and this is a skill that’s incredibly easy to learn, doesn’t take a lot of time and in terms of being a mandate on the school, is really something that pays forward,” said Dailey.
CPR in Schools is a campaign that calls for every high school student in New York to learn CPR and American Heart Association volunteers will lobby at the state Capitol on Wednesday, May 2, to urge the legislature to pass the bill.
“(We) talked to numerous lawmakers trying to tell them how easy it is for schools to incorporate this,” said Julie Hart, advocacy director at the American Heart Association.
Hart said people tend to balk when they hear “mandate” because they automatically assume it will come at a cost, but she said with what CPR in Schools calls for, that’s not necessarily the case.
“There’s a concern with cost and when you hear mandates you think of recurring cost but you can do this in schools without recurring costs,” said Hart.
The reason the program wouldn’t put undue burden on school districts and taxpayers is because it’s such a quick skill to teach.
“Schools could teach this skill in one or two class periods with minimal to no cost,” said Hart.
Hart said the American Heart Association worked with Colonie Central High School to train about 100 students in a health class.
“It was positive, students really seemed to embrace it, health teachers did a great job using the video,” said Hart. “It was easy for them to adopt and incorporate and hopefully other schools will emulate.”
The American Heart Association in Vermont helped get CPR in Schools passed in the Vermont House and is now waiting for Vermont Senate approval.
Dailey said CPR seems complicated but there’s a simper more progressive form of CPR that works just fine and is easier to learn.
“When a lot of people were young … they were taught mouth-to-mouth or a specific way it had to be done. Now, doing compression-only CPR takes less than five minutes to learn and can even be learned through a YouTube video,” said Dailey.
Hart said guideline changes to how CPR should be administered have changed in just the last couple years.
“We’re pushing hands-only CPR because it’s a great advantage and is a lot easier to learn,” said Hart.
About 383,000 people suffer sudden cardiac arrest outside the hospital each year, said Dailey, with only 11 percent surviving. But performing CPR can double or even triple the chance of survival, he said.
“Everyone we train in CPR has the potential to save a life, recognize an injury earlier, recognize cardiac arrest sooner,” said Dailey. “We know that about 1 percent to 2 percent of calls to 911 for ambulance assistance ends up being cardiac arrest and we know that every single one of those cardiac arrests … has an improved chance of returning to normal life if CPR is started as soon as that cardiac arrest is recognized.”
Arming young people with the skill is especially useful since many are involved in sports or babysitting or other activities that could potentially benefit from CPR, said Dailey.
To see a video of hands-only CPR, visit www.handsonlycpr.com and for more information about CPR in Schools legislation, visit www.supportcprinschools.org.