01 Mar Bill requires teens learn CPR
Advocates will testify before the House of Representatives Education Committee Friday in favor of legislation that would require all Washington State high school students learn CPR and would put portable defibrillators (AEDs) in all high schools.
According to the American Heart Association, there are 360,000 cases of sudden cardiac arrest in the United States each year and only about a third of these people receive CPR. Only 10 percent survive. The association claims CPR can double, or even triple, survival rates among cardiac arrest patients.
Supporters of House Bill 1556 believe that educating high school students on CPR will empower them to save lives long after high school is over.
State Rep. Kevin Van De Wege of Sequim, a former firefighter, sponsored this bill.
“This is about saving lives when every second counts,” Van De Wege said. “Knowing how to perform CPR correctly is one of the most useful skills a person can have.”