TOLEDO, Ohio — In the days following NFL player Damar Hamlin's cardiac arrest during the Bills-Bengals game, there has been a lot of discussion about the importance of learning CPR and some local students learned those life-saving skills this week at Port Clinton High School.
Port Clinton's Fire Department came to teach health classes through the American Heart Association's Heartsaver Program. The freshmen were shown instructional videos while they performed hands-on training.
The training included CPR administration, controlling bleeds, administering Epi-Pens, performing CPR and other first-aid practices.
Students were tested on the material Friday before they received their two-year certification, which Port Clinton EMS Captain Brian Gutman said they came up with alongside principal Brian Hughes around six months ago.
"The whole purpose of this program was brought to light when we arrive in an ambulance on scene and we go to help that ill or injured person, family members are coming to us about how helpless they felt, because they don't know how to act in an emergency, they don't know how to render aid," Gutman said. "Going through this program gives people the ability."
The school's health and physical education teacher, Seth Benner, said the state of Ohio mandates that students are exposed to these skills, but he said the school wanted to take it a step further and get the students certified.
"Usually, I'm the one orchestrating the class, right? Well, now it's these people that are orchestrating the class. So now I get to be a little bit of an observer," Benner said.
The AHA reports 1 in 10 people die outside of the hospital from cardiac arrest and 350,000 Americans die from it every year, which is why Gutman said that teaching kids now is vital.
"They're always out," Gutman said. "They're at the restaurant. They're our lifeguards, babysitters out watching our kids. So we thought this would be a great place to start."
With Benner's five freshman health classes, he said in total around 100 kids would be certified on Friday.
"I think they appreciate the relevance. Their attention to the instructors is way more than the attention they give me on a normal day in the classroom," Benner said.
Lilly Fox said she is happy to have the new skill along with her peers.
"I realize how important it is to really know what you're doing and how important it is to have other people around you who know what you're doing and can help you," Lilly said.
She also said the program was also engaging, as they were taught the skills in memorable ways.
"We learned that song that the song (Stayin' Alive) has the right song for CPR so we're all singing in class while we do CPR," Fox said.
The certifications will last for two years. The fire department and school said they were able to help fund the program through the Ottawa County Community Foundation, rotary club and other local organizations.