As part of a newly strengthened wellness policy, the School Board of Miami-Dade County voted to incorporate Hands-Only Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation CPR training for all students who take Personal Fitness as part of their graduation requirements.
This will create new generations of lifesavers by preparing them to respond to sudden cardiac arrest, whose victims usually die before Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) arrive because CPR was not administered. The American Heart Association (AHA) has been encouraging schools districts, such as Miami-Dade, to adopt CPR as part of their current policies making instruction stronger and more sustainable. Miami-Dade County embraced the opportunity and has provided leadership for others to follow.
Miami Dade County is home of the largest school district in the state of Florida, and is now the first county in the state to require students to learn Hands-Only CPR through a required course before they graduate high school. There are 34 states in the country that require CPR in Schools, but Florida is not one of them. The AHA hopes this landmark decision will inspire other counties to follow suit and create policies of their own.
In just one hour of students’ four-year high school career, this policy will provide the skills they need to help save lives – the lives of families, neighbors and friends. Students can learn these life-saving skills in the time it takes to watch one TV show. M-DCPS trains their senior high school physical education teachers as CPR instructors.
The American Heart Association has provided 83 American Heart Association CPR in Schools Kits™ to Miami Dade County schools which provides all materials and equipment needed to effectively teach Hands-Only CPR.