As the new year begins, the state of California implemented a new law stating that each high school student is required to take a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training class before graduation. If a student has not completed this requirement, the student is not eligible to graduate. California is just one of many states that have signed such a law.

This year, Clark held its first CPR classes for juniors, seniors and sophomores in March and April. Students were taught how to properly do CPR on someone whose life is in danger.

A bill was first signed by former California Gov. Jerry Brown in 2016. According to Education Drive, schools will be working to allow students to learn more “technical skills,” including competencies in the medical field.

During the training, two instructors who work with emergency services presented a slideshow indicating different situations where someone might be having a heart attack and what one can do to save someone’s life.

According to one of the instructors, an ambulance arrives within 5-7 minutes after a call to 9-1-1 was placed. Within that time, someone who might be having a heart attack can die.

“These trainings are beneficial because it has prepared us for when there is a situation where we have to do CPR on someone whose life is on the line,”  said junior Melanie Sepanian.

“My favorite part was when we actually got to practice the process on dummies and it felt like the real experience.”

While students were able to practice CPR on dummies, the instructors advertised the app called Pulse Point. Pulse Point is an app that detects when someone near you is having a heart attack at that same moment. The app sends a notification to all Pulse Point users in the area to assist that person and save his/her life. Pulse Point has over a million users across the country and has helped hundreds of people, according to their website.

According to the American Heart Association, spontaneous cardiac arrest is the number cause of death in the US, but with over 2 million students already knowing CPR due to these trainings, more people will be willing to assist someone having a heart attack.  

During the training, with humor and music, the instructors had ways to get the students’ attention, especially when playing the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive.”

“The instructors covered important topics and explained steps to take when someone is choking or having a heart attack; the instructors also included opportunities for students to test their skills through skits that students had to respond to real-life scenarios,” said history teacher Patrick Davarhanian. “The CPR training was a great opportunity for students to prepare for the future, to understand the importance of helping one another in a time of need and using a variety of methods, taught by the instructors, that demonstrated proper CPR techniques.”