High School Students learning life saving CPR Skills!

Did you know that many high school systems are requiring seniors to learn CPR before graduating!  Heartsaver is a perfect class for them.  Here’s yet another school system implementing this standard of High School Students learning life saving CPR Skills!

**GOSHEN** – Thirty-one local teens have gained critical lifesaving skills through a program organized by the Orange County Youth Bureau.

Participants engaged in the Heartsaver First Aid program, which includes CPR and AED training, run jointly by the Youth Bureau and the county’s Division of EMS Education.

The training, held at the county’s Emergency Services 911 Center on Wells Farm Road in Goshen, was available to young people aged 14 to 20 who live, attend school, volunteer, or work in Orange County.

Linda Seppey, the Youth Bureau’s coordinator for CPR training, emphasized the importance of these skills in everyday life.

“They go out, they party,” Seppey said. “Having these skills can be crucial in a situation where they need to save someone’s life.”

CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, delivers life-sustaining oxygen to the brain and other vital organs that can be irreversibly damaged while waiting for an ambulance in cases of cardiac arrest or stroke.

AEDs, or automated external defibrillators, are portable devices increasingly found in public locations like government buildings, schools, and airports. These sophisticated but easy-to-use devices analyze the heart’s rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock, known as defibrillation, to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm.

During the first-aid segment of the program, students learned to recognize the onset of a stroke, control bleeding, administer naloxone for suspected opioid overdoses, and administer epinephrine for severe allergic reactions.

Abhilash Patel, a 16-year-old from the Monroe-Woodbury school district, said he learned a variety of lifesaving techniques, from mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to chest compressions and how to help someone who is choking.

“They go into lots of depth to let the students know what is needed,” Seppey said. “And they get to practice what they learn as well.”

The 31 students who participated received a certificate of completion from the American Heart Association, which designed the program. We look forwards to more High School Students learning life saving CPR Skills!