Beach school students learn CPR training
Beach Elementary School became the first elementary school in Lee County to have students trained in CPR/first aid training last Wednesday.
Twenty-five fifth graders (including a few fourth graders) received certificates from the FMB Fire Control District for successful completion of the life-saving course. Beach fire fighter/paramedic Alex Gonzalez was the lead instructor for the training and was joined by Beach fire fighter/paramedic Joe Devito as well as Al Agathen and Alan Vacks of the Community Emergency Response Team.
“The fire department trained 10 of our staff members in the summer, so we thought it would be a great idea to have kids learn, in case they are at Edison Mall, for example, and somebody went down,” said Principal Larry Wood. “They might not be able to perform CPR, but they would not be afraid to use the equipment by walking an adult through it. The more people out there that know the procedures, the better.”
FMB Fire Contol District Lt. Ronald Martin said the children began by watching the short segment of the American Heart Association Basic CPR Training before performing hands-on practice training. The students then took turns performing CPR on a provided “dummy” and learn the basics of how to run an automated external defibrillator, a device which analyses the heart rhythm and verbally tells the operator whether or not to shock the patient with paddles.
“Without a doubt, CPR and early defibrillation are the two things in emergency medicine that are proven to save lives in a cardiac arrest,” said Martin. “The idea is to start early in training these kids to hopefully do adequate compressions in CPR and lay the groundwork. Hopefully, the goal is to eventually get more of the population in Lee County trained in CPR. The earlier the person is defibrillated with an AED and CPR is provided in a cardiac event, the better chances of survival. Plus, the kids get to know their local fire department and their local public safety officials. We’re hopefully laying groundwork for skills that they’ll want to continue and learn about and keep through adulthood.”
Last week, one shift of the fire fighters at Fire Station #31 walked through the school campus with Wood and his building supervisor to locate the major electrical shutoff switches, air handlers and other important emergency areas.
“Eventually, all of the fire fighters will do the walk through and learn where the major shut-offs are which makes it safer for us, the kids and for the fire fighters because they will know where the propane tanks and electricity are,” said Wood. “We also did our first fire drill to show the kids when a real incident occurs, the fire fighters will show up.”
Martin said it is vital to have good community mentors in a child’s life.
“So much of our job is community service, and we want to help our local elementary school and its principal by providing the kids a good access of positive mentors in their life,” said Martin. “It’s important to help guide them through some of the difficult decisions they make on their path to adulthood.
“Recent history shows us public safety officials the importance of having our public trained in what to do in an initial emergency. When one happens, we are not going to be there. It’ll take us anywhere from 3-5 minutes for us to arrive. Having the knowledge and abilities to react in a constructive way during that time is essential to having a positive outcome.”
Wood said the staff at Beach Elementary is very grateful to the Beach Kiwanis, who purchased an AED for the school to have in case of emergencies.
Here is an alphabetical listing of the Beach school students who received certificates of completion in CPR/ first aid training: Marisol Cortes; Kyle Dimsdale; Kevin Lang; Lea Stauder; Phillip Belli; Devon Browder; Samuel Ifrah; Alexander Ramos; Skylar Sander; Timothy Smith; Delaney Acken; Mara Benton; Jeet Bhagu; Camden Brittingham; Danielle Buchanan; Megan Caldwell; Eric Couch; Benjamin Faircloth; Hannah Florell; Alexis Gore; Michael Matthews; Alyssa Maurer; Chase Mistrot; Riley Musante; Robert Poppe.