CUBA CITY—A life-saving procedure was taught to all Cuba City High School students last week. A grant helped the school purchase equipment to train students and staff on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Cuba City Schools received the American Heart Association-Ross CPR in Schools High School Grant which provided two CPR in schools training kits and the assistance of the American Heart Association (AHA) for training of high school students. The grant was written by Chris Sander, middle school math teacher at Cuba City Elementary School. Sander is certified in CPR and has done training for the school staff in the past.
As long as the school continues to implement the training over the next three years, the school will be able to keep all of the equipment that was provided, including the two sets of 10 inflatable dummies, kneeling mats, hand pumps, placement airways, wipes, facemasks, DVDs, storage bags and user guide.
“Coming up in the 2017-18 school year, it will be a WIAA rule regulation that all coaches are CPR certified,” Tami Gleason, wellness coordinator at Cuba City Schools, said. “We’ll be able to use the equipment for our students as well as the staff and coaches for certification. It’s a plus because I’m sure that stuff is not cheap.”
Students were broken up by homeroom to learn the skills. There were eight groups on Tuesday and another eight on Wednesday. The school days were already out of sync because of state testing.
“We were fortunate enough to have four Dickeyville EMTs came in, two each day,” Gleason said. “They were a huge help because they had the experience performing CPR.”
The four EMTs—Dallas Dietzel, Melodee Richard, Cathy Droessler and Chad Genthe—were joined by coaches Gleason, Jeff Droessler and Keri Lawson to teach the students.
Since rescue squads in the area are all volunteer, it takes longer to respond to rural calls because they aren’t at the ambulance when they receive the call. The EMTs have to travel from their home to the fire department to get in the ambulance and then respond to the call.
“The EMTs said that every one minute that you go without the compressions or the use of an AED, there is a 10 percent less chance of survival,” Gleason said. “You never know how long someone has been laying there. If they’ve been there five minutes already, they only have a 50-50 chance of surviving. I think it was very eye-opening for the kids and that they enjoyed it. It’s a scary thing thinking about having to ever perform CPR on someone, but you never know, you may save a life.”
The training included a video as well as practice time. It explained the techniques to use, how far to push down, scenarios of how to know if you need to use CPR and the rhythm to use. There should be 100 compressions for every minute, and students learned to follow the beat for “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees.
The training also explained to students where the AEDs were located in the school.
Gleason said the students’ training did not meet the requirements for certification, but offered them an introduction to the skills needed to perform CPR.
“They’ve got the knowledge now if they ever happen to come upon a situation where they need it,” Gleason said. “Hopefully they won’t need it.”
Gleason said the volunteers were able to talk about the ride-along programs Dickeyville and Cuba City rescue squads provide for students who are interested in the medical field or helping volunteer.
“It helps give them an experience and shows them what to expect,” Gleason said. “We currently have a student who is volunteering for the rescue squad in Dickeyville. It’s a good way to promote the area rescue squads. I know they’re always looking for people to volunteer.”
