News Release from: Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue
STUDENTS & FIRE CHIEF UNITE AGAIN TO SPEAK AT CAPITOL AND ADVOCATE FOR CPR
Posted: December 12th, 2012 11:53 AM
Students & Fire Chief unite again to speak at Capitol and advocate
for CPR as a Graduation Requirement
Building on the partnership formed last year, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue Fire Chief Mike Duyck, along with students and staff from Valley Catholic Middle School and representatives from the American Heart Association will be at the Capitol today to advocate that all Oregon students are trained in CPR before graduating from high school. Doing so will significantly increase the number of trained lifesavers in our community every year.
Anyone can learn Hands-Only CPR - and the American Heart Association believes that everyone should. Earlier this year the American Heart Association issued a science advisory recommending CPR and AED training for all secondary school students. Sudden cardiac arrest can strike anyone, anywhere. And when it does, a victim's survival depends on the people around them. In 2008 the AHA changed their recommendations for CPR by people who see a teen or adult suddenly collapse in an "out-of-hospital" setting (such as at home, at work or in a park). Hands-Only CPR consists of two very easy steps; the first is to call 911, and the second is to push hard and fast in the center of the victim's chest. Thanks to a unique partnership with Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue and AHA, nearly 200 Beaverton Valley Catholic students were trained in Hands-Only CPR in 2011.
Schools prepare students with essential life skills, and CPR skills are among the most critical--lifesaving skills that make our communities safer, year after year. Young adults trained in CPR at school have saved lives by knowing what to do during those precious few minutes after someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest. They have saved brothers and sisters, parents and other adults--including complete strangers. Fire Chief Mike Duyck states, "We are thrilled about this partnership and the prospect of saving even more lives. Our department responds to over 200 cardiac arrest events each year and having someone ready and willing to initiate CPR before our paramedics arrive, can mean the difference between life and death for a patient."
Nearly 383,000 people have cardiac arrest outside of a hospital every year, and only about 5% survive, most likely because they don't receive timely CPR. Given right away, CPR doubles or triples survival rates. Teaching students CPR could save thousands of lives by filling our community with lifesavers - those trained to give sudden cardiac arrest victims the immediate help they need to survive until EMTs arrive.
For more information on Hands-Only CPR, and to find out how you can attend a CPR class visit www.tvfr.com
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