Why CPR Certification is Important in Schools!

Why CPR Certification is Important in Schools!

Most school age students are typically not at-risk for heart failure or cardiac disease. However, school-aged children can still experience a medical crisis that involves a cardiac emergency. For parents, teachers, and peers, there is often nothing more life-changing than experiencing the loss of a child or friend. Subsequently, early bystander CPR is an essential life-saving tool for anyone whose has experienced a medical emergency involving a cardiac crisis.

Why Compression-Only CPR and Not Traditional CPR?

Responder safety is one of the top priorities. CPR instruction that promotes the administration of 2 rescue breaths to school-aged students can often place the students at a greater risk of contracting communicable diseases resulting in a personal compromise to their personal safety. Furthermore, recent studies conducted on CPR have found that chest compressions are significantly critical to keeping an individual alive in the first few minutes after heart stoppage as opposed to  administering rescue breaths. In addition, people who don’t have extensive training in CPR  have a greater risk of giving improper rescue breaths resulting in the slowing down of overall compressions and breaths.

CPR Statistics for Bystanders

The proper administration of CPR by a bystander within the first few minutes of a cardiac emergency can be the factor that establishes the difference between a full recovery and mortality. If bystander CPR is administered soon after a victim has undergone cardiac arrest, the victim survival rate goes up to 45 percent. Sadly, with less than half of the people experiencing cardiac arrest getting immediate help, the overall survival rate for a person experiencing a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital is only 6 percent. 
Encouraging more bystanders to learn CPR, whether it be in the workplace or the school setting, can help reduce or eliminate a poor outcome. CPR, especially when learned in conjunction with AED training is the best way to get a heart pumping again after a cardiac arrest. Lucky for students, all schools are equipped with AEDs, so unlike many places where a cardiac arrest might take place, the victim survival rate in schools is better than in places without an AED. This is all the more reason for high school students to know how to administer CPR.

What to look for in CPR Instruction in Schools

​Teaching CPR to school aged students is completely different that teaching CPR to adults. For example, an empowerment of educators is one of the most important elements necessary for facilitating a CPR class in the school environment. First, it is important to search for for CPR instructors that are engaging, knowledgeable, and instructors that can make the process of learning CPR fun. Second, it is also important to find instructors that have experience in both the healthcare and teaching fields.
If you don't have the time to find teachers and instead go immediately to the source, it’s important to find a CPR program that will come to your students. As a school administrator, you know how much of a logistical headache planning a field trip (or several) can be for your school. As opposed to attempting to transport dozens of students to a CPR training facility, try to locate a company that will come to your school to teach the CPR class to the health classes. However, it is important to remember that not every CPR training company is equipped to take their training sessions to the classroom. Find one that can come to your school or district.
​With our American Heart Association (AHA) accredited CPR class lasting just 2.5 hours, scheduling a CPR class with Help-A-Heart CPR is the perfect remedy. Get your students CPR certified here at Help-A-Heart CPR to comply with Texas legislative requirements and help save lives in the classroom and your school Contact us today to get started!