Chartiers Valley elementary students learn CPR

Students at Chartiers Valley’s elementary schools are learning a life-saving skill.

Chartiers Valley’s Primary and Intermediate schools recently participated in the American Heart Association’s Kids Heart Challenge fundraiser.

Students learned hands-only CPR during physical education classes.

“We were very impressed with how it went,” said Suanne Estatico, physical education teacher at the Primary School. “A lot of the kids tried it.”

Physical education teachers instruct the students how to perform hands-only CPR and use a mannequin to demonstrate. A coordinator from the American Heart Association guides educators on how to teach the skill.

“Most people don’t know what to do when they see a teen or an adult collapse,” said Karen Colbert, spokeswoman for the American Heart Association. “Hands-Only CPR performed immediately can double, even triple chance of survival.”

Colbert said the American Heart Association encourages people to become CPR-certified. Hands-only CPR only requires two steps: call 911 and push hard and fast in the center of the chest until emergency medical personnel arrive.

“These two steps give bystanders more confidence to jump in and help,” Colbert said.

To perform hands-only CPR, a person should make sure the surrounding area is safe, call 911 and put the phone on speaker. Then, place one hand over the other and push hard and fast in the center of the person’s chest to the beat of a song that has 100 to 120 beats per minute. To students at Chartiers Valley, that song was “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees.

“If anyone ever passes out, you could help them to start breathing,” said second-grader Camille Ciltti.

Coralie Seneca, also a second-grader, said it was easy to learn hands-only CPR, and that it is life-saving.

“If someone passes out or collapses, you can do it yourself or teach someone how,” said Mila Trombetta, another second-grader.

Estatico emphasizes to students that, in an emergency, kids should get an adult and call 911. They go over possible emergency scenarios so students know how to respond.

While the students are too little to actively perform CPR, it’s a skill they will remember for life, Estatico said. They can also teach what they’ve learned to an adult.

Cardiac arrest is a leading cause of death in the world, so CPR is a critical skill, Colbert said.

“It’s important to spread awareness,” she said. “The goal of the American Heart Association’s Nation of Lifesavers initiative is to turn a nation of bystanders into a nation of lifesavers so that when the time comes, anyone anywhere is prepared and empowered to become a vital link in the chain of survival and provide CPR.”

Chartiers Valley Primary School has participated in the Kids’ Heart Challenge for about 20 years. First and second grade students often can recall the lesson when they learn it the following year, Estatico said.

Learning CPR and heart health also teaches students independence and responsibility, Estatico said.

“Helping people in an emergency — that’s huge,” she said.