Miami-Dade schools now require all high school students to learn hands-only CPR before graduation. Paul Smith's wife saved his life with chest compressions after he collapsed at home. Over 420,000 people have cardiac arrests outside hospitals yearly, but most die because bystanders don't know CPR.
6:41 the time right now. Yeah, kids winding down their first week back in class. Something new this year for high schoolers in Miami-Dade County.
Over the summer, the school board voted on a new graduation requirement, and Local 10 News medical specialist Christy Krueger has more on this life-saving lesson our students will now be learning.
2 months ago, Paul Smith was sitting at home on his computer and suddenly the world went dark.
I was gone. I was— I didn't feel— I think I had done passed away.
Lucky for Paul, his wife Jackie was also home and knew CPR.
It was scary because my first response, I panicked, and then the back of my mind said, "Jackie, you can do this.
You have the training." Every year, more than 420,000 people have sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital. Most die because they don't receive timely CPR. But with new guidelines, it's easier than ever.
If you see someone that's down and they don't have a pulse, we just concentrate on the compression. So fast, hard chest compressions in the center of the chest.
Now, Miami-Dade County students will be the first in the state required to learn these life-saving skills to graduate. So far, 83 of these CPR kits have been delivered to schools in Miami-Dade County. The idea is to make tens of thousands of students into potential life savers right here in our community.
They're learning, uh, how to check to make sure someone actually needs CPR. They're going to learn where to place their hands, how far down they need to compress, and how fast they need to compress, and that's it. That's all they're going to learn. It's very simple. It's a very simple course and it will save lives.
17-year-old Valentina Espinoza believes the new graduation requirement is a smart move.
Of course we have a lot to, you know, keep up with, but this is saving someone's life. You have that opportunity.
And so do first responders like Miami-Dade Fire Rescue.
Somebody goes down, there's somebody there to witness it. It actually buys us and the patient some time until we actually get there.
I'm glad she knows CPR, and she needs to teach everybody else in the house how to do CPR.
I was able to be here to work on him, to do CPR, you know, to bring him back alive, to at least spend a couple more months, years, a lifetime with me. And I love him.
I love you too. In Miami, Christy Krueger, Local 10 News.
Oh, how sweet. Well, there are 34 states in the country that require CPR training in schools. The American Heart Association in Florida is hoping our whole state will follow with Miami-Dade's lead. The class is usually given as part of a personal fitness graduation requirement.
