A fairly recent bill signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis requires Florida high school students to attend cardiopulmonary resuscitation training as a form of graduation requirement. As a matter of fact, thirty-eight states and Washington D.C. have passed laws and adopted curriculum changes to require hand-on, guidelines based, CPR training to graduate high school. With Florida adapting this regulation, nearly 2.3 million students in the United States are to be trained in CPR each year.  

With such in mind, on February 13, the PHS class of 2024, being split into three different periods based on last names, attended the hands-on CPR training in the auditorium. Such gave a background seminar upon what to do in a emergency situation. 

“If you see a teen or adult suddenly collapse, call 911 and don’t wait for professional rescuers, said Dr. Jose Cabañas, chief medical officer for Wake County. 

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, more commonly known as CPR, is a proven life-saving technique that helps maintain blood flow to the brain and heart in an emergency situation. Knowing CPR is a requirement for some professions such as lifeguard or child care provider, which are common side-hustle jobs for teenagers.  

“The experience at the CPR hands-on training was very fun and entertaining for me, while the hands-on training course was meant to be educational, I found it quite memorable to do with my friends,” junior Anh Le said. 

Performing CPR on a person whose heart has stopped beating can help to keep blood and oxygen flowing throughout the body, and therefore can help to keep the person alive until emergency medical help arrives at the scene. 

“I feel like the training gave me a good background how react in an emergency situation, and I would be comfortable enough to perform CPR if needed,” Anh Le said.