Bill would require Washington teens learn CPR
Advocates will testify before the House of Representatives Education Committee Friday in favor of legislation that would require all Washington State high school students learn CPR and would put portable defibrillators in all high schools.
According to the American Heart Association, there are 360,000 cases of sudden cardiac arrest in the United States each year and only about a third of these people receive CPR. Only 10 percent survive. The association claims CPR can double, or even triple, survival rates among cardiac arrest patients.
Supporters of House Bill 1556 believe that educating high school students on CPR will empower them to save lives long after high school is over.
State Rep. Kevin Van De Wege of Sequim, a former firefighter, sponsored this bill.
“This is about saving lives when every second counts,” Van De Wege said. “Knowing how to perform CPR correctly is one of the most useful skills a person can have.”
Eric Rothenberg, of Mercer Island, experienced the life-saving effects of CPR after he went into cardiac arrest while playing tennis in 2009. With no risk of heart disease, the 42-year-old went from feeling fine to suddenly losing consciousness in the middle of a game.
"I started to feel light headed and it wasn’t going away," Rothenberg said. "They thought I was joking until I fell on my face and started bleeding from my nose."
Thankfully, there were doctors trained in CPR playing nearby that day. The men started chest compressions and shocked Rothenberg twice with a portable defibrillator, starting his heart and saving his life.
“I was clinically dead,” Rothenberg said. "It was the actions of the people who knew what to do and jumped in right away that saved me."
Now, Rothenberg is an advocate for CPR training and HB 1556. He believes that 30 minutes of CPR education could empower an entire generation of students to save lives. Even if they don't remember every detail of their training years later, Rothenberg said people who know how to start compressions when someone's heart has stopped can save a life.
"You don’t have to be prefect at it; you just have to do something," Rothenberg said. "Once someone's heart has stopped, you can't make it worse."
Both Rothenberg and Van De Wege argue that it is also important for high schools to have AEDs on site and staff trained to use them.
"As a society we need to get comfortable with AEDs," Van De Wege said. "As time progresses they're going to be wherever people congregate."
Still, some are concerned about how much CPR training would cost school districts.
But, Van De Wege said he does not anticipate this legislation would have any financial impact because there are currently so many community groups offering free CPR training. He said the bill does not require school staff become certified CPR instructors.
The Seattle School District currently requires seventh-grade students be trained in CPR. And Lori Dunn, the district’s physical education program manager, said she supports HB 1556.
Still, Dunn said the district has been trying to offer CPR training to ninth graders but there has not been enough funding to do so. She said this kind of training should be required by federal law and supported with federal funding.
"I think it should be federal policy that should lay down what we want all kids to be able to do,” she said.
A similar bill recommending CPR training be added to Washington state high school graduation requirements failed last year. Still, Rothenberg said this is an important lesson that should be included in health curriculums.
"There are so many things you learn in high school that you never get to use in your life," Rothenberg said. "Empowering and enabling a generation of lifesavers can make a huge difference."
You can learn "hands only" CPR in the American Heart Associations instructional video.
Not a good idea to REQUIRE them to learn it. I fully support people learning CPR, however forcing them to do so won't increase rates of success. CPR is difficult, it is stressful and it is traumatic. It is a process that is far more involved than what is shown in the link above.Â
CPR will likely break the victims ribs. There will be vomit. There might be blood. The truth is the victim is not likely going to survive. Are schools going to teach this? Are they going to provide testing if the kid gets biohazard on them? Are they going to provide counseling to those involved?Â
You can force someone to sit through a class, you cannot force them react. While it sounds like a good idea on paper, I go to emergency calls every single day and witness first hand that people freeze under stress. Not everyone can handle an emergency. Teaching someone CPR doesn't guarantee that they will be able to react if they need to.Â
CPR is a skill that must be constantly practiced. At the ambulance I work at we must recertify every quarter. Even with as much practice as we do we still forget stuff and we perform CPR all the time.Â
If you want to learn CPR I will teach you. If you want to learn it in school - that is fine too and I will support that. However, making it a REQUIREMENT is irresponsible, ineffective and is opening the school up to liability. Keep it voluntary and you will continue to see the high level of involvement. Make it mandatory and you will see resentment.Â
King County and Washington State already have the highest ratio of CPR trained bystanders in the world. No need to make it a requirement.
How about a bill to require teens to learn math and science.
First of all I think it is a great idea. Everyone should know first aid and cpr. The average guy on the street is not REQUIRED to give someone first aid. If you are CERTIFIED in giving first aid or cpr but do not give it or do it wrong, you can be sued.
My first, first aid and cpr class was as a senior in high school. It wasn't required but our Health teacher thought it was important enough to take one class period for it. When I worked at the electric utility it WAS required and they spent two full days on it. When I went to Boeing it was required at least every other year and often I received the training on a yearly basis.
I never objected to these classes as it could have meant the difference between life and death to someone. As I previously wrote I have never used these skills outside of a classroom but I am damn glad I have these skills. Probably time for me to take another refresher.
Why is there such a need to make everything a law? Yes, it would be nice for kids to learn first aid and CPR, but do we really need for it to be a law? Seems to me like our lawmakers are just busy doing everything but taking care of the states business. If they want to teach these things in the schools then make it a required course, but it doesn't need a law.
@Jatok CPR and first aid are courses you need to have refresher classes on every so often to keep the skills sharp and current.....CPR has changed significantly since I was in school. I would encourage every able bodied adult to learn these skills, but the state needs to get off the "make a law" train and focus on more important things.....like the BUDGET.
Basic 1st Aid should be mandatory in all schools. As should common sense, logic, and economics.
What other mandatory crap courses do we teach our kids? All of the above will carry on for the rest of their lives.
CPR is good to know, but so is the rest of the story. Many kids nowadays come home to an empty house. Mom and Dad are working to help pay taxes, the mortgage, etc. If Johnny cuts off his finger while slicing an apple, CPR won't help. Teach 'em ALL of it.
Cut some of the crap and teach what's realy important. Did I say cut? Silly me. Amend this to all 1st aid and I'm all for it. Why stop at CPR?
I joined Search and Rescue when I was 13 y/o. I had taken more 1st aid classes in 2 years than most take in a lifetime. All the classes were free at the local FD or Mountaineering Club at that time. The class only takes about 4 hours and shouldn't cause an impact on anyones schedule or the budget. It CAN make a huge impact on kids awareness and how to deal with injuries should they occur.
Two thumbs up from me!
@bobalouie I learned 1st aid and CPR first through Boy Scouts of America. Then later I became a lifeguard at a local pool, being certified in CPR, First aid for the professional rescuer, Oxygen, AED, and more that I am sure I am forgetting. I keep my CPR and first aid certs up to date. I have used these skills in the real world (outside of being a lifeguard, which I used them there too!). I agree that we should not stop at CPR, we MUST teach first aid along side CPR.
Maybe we should teach them to correctly manage a budget so they can replace the clowns in Olympia instead. This is so absurd.
I think this makes far more sense than a mandatory "volunteer" project or having to write an essay on what a person is going to do with the rest of their life.
As a result of my career I have probably had close to thirty basic first and and cpr refresher classes. I learned something in each and every class. Thankfully I have never had to put what I had learned in these classes to use.
This is not the role of government. Â Glad the state and for that matter education isn't facing any real problems.
Yer right. It's not the role of governemnt. It's above that.
When parents don't teach their kids basic 1st aid, someone should. Whom would that be? The neighbors?
HOW successful is CPR - REALLY? A WASTE OF $$$
@contraryjim As someone who has been trained in CPR and used it, I would say it is VERY successful. 3 lives saved and counting!
@contraryjim
My sincerest hope for you is you donât drop dead from cardiac arrest with no around knowing how to preform effective CPR. Unless of course it was Godâs will that he didnât want your tax $$$ wasted educating the people around you.
Are you serious? Seattle and King County have the highest cardiac arrest save rates in the nation at over 50%. Many other major metro areas are down in the single digits... part of that success is all the citizens trained in CPR here... honestly... you can't be this dumb
As a heart attack survivor myself, I fully understand the importance of people knowing how to perform CPR, and the fact that such a simple thing can help save a life.Â
But, what about the "other things" we have to deal with in Olympia - the budget, education funding, infrastructure repair & replacement? Have those all been taken care of so that now the Legislature is free to take up bills such as this?