WHS students ‘staying alive’ with CPR training

Washington High School senior Kadin Schiebel carefully lined up his hands on the CPR dummy and began compressions as 'Staying Alive” by the Beegees blasted from the gym speakers. Schiebel was just one of a handful of students taking a CPR training session on Friday, March 29.

WHS physical education teacher Callyn Mason said taking a training session is a graduation requirement of all students. She said the students are not certified at the end of their training, but instead have a crash course on how to perform CPR if the situation ever arises.

Mason said she feels it's important for students to learn because it's a life-saving measure that can be done anywhere and is an important life skill to have.

'I think it's important for anyone (to learn),” she said. 'If you look at the statistics of the health of our country right now, heart attacks are fairly common.”

She said she thinks giving these kids the tools they need to perform CPR and do it well is beneficial because it teaches them how to act in a serious situation where the first instinct may be to panic. She hopes that by teaching the students how to do compressions and talking them through the process they will retain the information and not be in a panic if they ever need to use them.

Allison Hippen, a senior at WHS, has never taken a CPR course before but after taking the session at WHS, she feels more confident and prepared for the future.

'It's kind of nice to know how to do it and be able to have some knowledge so I know what to do in the real world someday,” she said.