House and Senate Committees take up CPR in Schools legislation

On April 28th, the House Education Committee heard testimony from a number of AHA advocates in support of HB 5160, introduced by Representative Thomas Hooker, that would ensure that all students in Michigan are trained in Hands-Only CPR before they graduate from high school. 

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Representative Hooker testified that if all Michigan high school students learn basic CPR prior to graduation Michigan will gain an additional 100,000 CPR-trained lifesavers each year. Furthermore, four out of five cardiac arrests occur at home, so these students will most likely be saving the lives of their family members. Hands-Only CPR training can take as little as 30 minutes and can be easily incorporated into existing health curriculums. 

Parents shared heartbreaking stories of losing their children to cardiac arrest including Jocelyn Leonard, Randy Gillary and Kelly Warren, have chosen to become champions for change so that other parents don't lose their children.  Members of the EMS community: Jason Trojan and Dennis McMahon, testified on the importance of learning Hands-Only CPR due to the emergent time constraints.  There is a 10% reduction in brain function for every minute that a person is down from a cardiac arrest so the sooner CPR is administered the better the outcome for the patient. 

On May 3rd, the Senate Education Committee took up the CPR in Schools issue and, after hearing testimony from State Senator Tonya Schuitmaker and many of the advocates who spoke at the House hearing, voted 5-0 in favor of the bill!  We expect the House Education Committee to hold a vote in the near future.

 

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