Florida law requiring high school students to learn CPR effective July 1

Your high school student will have a new class to take in the fall.

Beginning Thursday, schools will be required to give high school students CPR and first aid training. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law recently.

This measure could improve odds in a life-or-death situation. Having a school full of students trained in CPR means more lives could be saved everywhere. The American Heart Association says 1 in 5 people who die from cardiac arrest could have been saved if someone performed CPR.

Laurie Giordano smiles remembering her son, Zach Polsenberg. Four years ago, Zach, who was 16 years old, suffered a heatstroke during football practice at Riverdale High School. He died about two weeks later.

“I miss him more now than I ever did before,”” Giordano said. “I miss him more every day.”

Although CPR would not have saved Zach’s life, his mom says there are cases where people suffering from heatstroke could be saved.

“It’s helpful,” Giordano said. “One of the things that you need to learn to look for and obviously breathing in a pulse are the first things that you really need to ascertain in an emergency situation.”

Moving forward, students will have those tools.

Under a new law that goes into effect Thursday, Florida school districts have to provide basic first aid and CPR training for 9th and 11th graders.

Captain Matt Miszewski of Charlotte County Fire & EMS Training says this will only help save lives.

“It’s been proven that just doing compressions is a benefit to the patient until the healthcare provider like firefighters and EMS can get there and take over care at that point.”

Miszewski said when someone goes into cardiac arrest, the chance of survival goes down 10% every minute that goes by, so the earlier the better.

“It would be great if they never used it, but it just takes one person who knows it to save someone’s life,” Giordano said.

Charlotte County Fire & EMS says everyone should know CPR. The more people that do, the more lives can be saved.

Anyone who wants to learn CPR nearby or online can visit American Red Cross or American Heart Association websites.

RESOURCES
American Red Cross – CPR training 
American Heart Association – CPR & First Aid 
CS/HB 157 – First Aid Training in Public Schools