Res. No. 212
Title
Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign legislation to amend the Education Law to require more than one school staff person to be trained to administer CPR at all schools during regular school hours.
Body
By Council Member Eugene
Whereas, The Mayo Clinic states that cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a lifesaving technique for someone whose heart or breathing has stopped; and
Whereas, The treatment for cardiac arrest is CPR, followed by the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED); and
Whereas, The United States National Library of Medicine describes CPR as an emergency technique that combines rescue breathing and chest compressions to manually keep blood and oxygen flowing through the body until further advanced measures can be taken; and
Whereas, Cardiac arrest can occur because of heart disease, heart attacks, respiratory arrest, drowning or choking; and
Whereas, According to the New York State Department of Health, choking is the fourth leading cause of unintentional death in children under the age of 5; and
Whereas, An average of 12,400 children ages 0 to 14 years of age were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal food-related choking annually, which equals 34 children per day, according to a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics; and
Whereas, Without medical attention, a person in cardiac arrest will die within a few minutes; and
Whereas, According to the American Heart Association, a bystander who performs CPR immediately after a sudden cardiac arrest can double or triple a victim's chance of survival; and
Whereas, On December 5, 2011, a fourth grade student at Public School 47 in the Bronx choked on a meatball, which resulted in cardiac arrest; and
Whereas, Various media accounts of the incident raise concerns that school staff did not respond appropriately or in a timely fashion; and
Whereas,...
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