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 incident. There are too many lives lost, Tarr said, because a lack of adequate CPR training often leaves bystanders unable to help in an emergency. “The compelling nature of this is indisputable. Over 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States every year and of those only about 41% of the victims receive help from a bystander in the form of CPR prior to EMS arrival,” he said. Bystander intervention, Tarr told his colleagues on the Joint Committee on Education during a hearing on Monday, can greatly increase the odds of a cardiac arrest victim surviving the medical emergency. “It increases the chances of survival by a factor of two to three times,” he said. For that reason, the Gloucester lawmaker said, 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 some training on CPR and mobile defibrillators during the course of their education — 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 said. “This bill, and others like it before the committee, would seek to codify that and ensure that it is a requirement for graduation,” he said. Tarr’s young constituent, Newburyport high school student Madeleine Elizabeth Jackman, introduced herself to the committee as the cosponsor of the bill, which she said she’s advocating for after “one of the scariest moments” she’s ever faced. Jackman told lawmakers that when she was an eight year old she began to choke while out with family members. She said 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 said — that she was provided the treatment she needed to survive. “There is a lack of CPR training among the population and, though I was lucky, it could cost lives,” she said.