Palm Bay’s Southwest Middle School Students Learn CPR

By  //  April 8, 2015

part of red cross Prepare Florida campaign

ABOVE VIDEO: The students at Southwest Middle School spent part of their day learning CPR from Fire-Rescue Department volunteers and representatives from the American Red Cross.

BREVARD COUNTY • PALM BAY, FLORIDA — The students at Southwest Middle School spent part of their day learning CPR from Fire-Rescue Department volunteers and representatives from the American Red Cross.

PALM-BAY-580The partnership with the Red Cross is part of its Prepare Florida campaign to educate 500,000 people in lifesaving skills such as CPR.

Fire-Rescue Volunteer Jim Poulos led the daylong sessions at the school which focused on hands-only CPR training.

Each student was instructed in the proper technique of hands-only CPR and then was asked to perform the task for one-minute in order to get a realistic feel for how it’s done.

Jim Poulos
Jim Poulos

“The earlier we can start teaching them the better and this is a very easy technique to master,” Poulos said.

“It’s compression only and doesn’t involve any kind of pulse check or any breathing check or any kind of mouth to mouth ventilation so people are more apt to do it.”

According to the American Heart Association 70 percent of Americans may feel helpless to act during a cardiac emergency because they do not know how to administer CPR.

An alarming 88 percent of cardiac arrests occur at home thus increasing the odds a person may one day be put in a position to possibly save a life using CPR.

Lamar Pollard
Lamar Pollard

“We want to educate 500,000 people in citizen CPR throughout Florida,” said Lamar Pollard with the Space Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross.

“You just never know when something will happen. We want folks to be prepared.”

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