February is heart health month and EJR is on it! It’s never too early to teach good health habits – from exercise to eating right, to getting the right amount of sleep and drinking plenty of water. Fifth-grade students learned something a bit more – they practiced hands-only CPR.

 

 

 

The students learned that 70 percent of the estimated 35,000 cardia arrests each year happen at home. Being prepared to help in such an emergency can help save someone’s life. Coaches Chris Curnan and Barbara Hostetter set out to teach the fifth-grade students just how to do that.

First they watched a video about the Kids’ Heart Challenge and hands-only CPR. Then they put it in action.

 

 

Coach Curnan demonstrated with the manikin just how to do CPR. If someone isn’t breathing, they should call 911 or having someone with them make the call. The 911 operators will help them stay calm during the process. They are to check for a pulse and listen to someone’s chest. Then they interlock their fingers, hold their arms straight and use their body weight when doing compressions on someone’s chest.

 

The goal is 100 to 120 compressions per minute. Coach Hostetter played The Bee Gees Staying Alive for the beat to help students when they were practicing, although they emphasized there really is no wrong way to do it. Anything is better than nothing to keep blood circulating until help arrives.

 

 

Each fifth-grade student who wanted to participate had several opportunities to actually do CPR to the manikins. They became comfortable with it by the end of the lesson and that was the goal. Having the students more aware and knowing what to do in a cardiac emergency was the objective.