CPR training eyed as high school grad requirement

A bill before the state Legislature would require all Bay State high school students to become CPR and AED certified before they graduate bringing Massachusetts in line with the majority of states According to state Senate Minority Leader Sen Bruce Tarr An Act requiring instruction in CPR and the use of defibrillators for high school graduation was inspired by and cosponsored by a constituent whose life was saved by CPR when she was eight years old and nearly died after a choking case There are too multiple lives lost Tarr noted because a lack of adequate CPR training often leaves bystanders unable to help in an emergency The compelling nature of this is indisputable Over out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States every year and of those only about of the casualties receive help from a bystander in the form of CPR prior to EMS arrival he disclosed Bystander intervention Tarr narrated his colleagues on the Joint Committee on Schooling during a hearing on Monday can greatly increase the odds of a cardiac arrest victim surviving the clinical exigency It increases the chances of survival by a factor of two to three times he stated For that reason the Gloucester lawmaker reported it is imperative that Massachusetts build a generation of trained and capable bystanders ready to step in and save a life High schoolers in Massachusetts already receive several training on CPR and mobile defibrillators during the syllabus of their tuition it s part of the state s curriculum but certification is not a requirement Massachusetts joins seven other U S states in not requiring CPR certification as a graduation requirement It s time for that to change that outlier status the Senate Minority Leader revealed This bill and others like it before the committee would seek to codify that and ensure that it is a requirement for graduation he revealed Tarr s young constituent Newburyport high school participant Madeleine Elizabeth Jackman introduced herself to the committee as the cosponsor of the bill which she reported she s advocating for after one of the scariest moments she s ever faced Jackman advised lawmakers that when she was an eight year old she began to choke while out with family members She commented the choking wasn t the scary part rather what frightened her was that none of the adults around her knew what to do It was only through the intervention of a stranger an off-duty nurse Jackman reported that she was provided the healing she needed to survive There is a lack of CPR training among the population and though I was lucky it could cost lives she commented