American Heart Association Vice President of Development Nina Morgan and Tampa Electric Vice President of Safety and Security Heidi Whidden helped distribute 35 CPR in Schools Training Kits to Hillsborough County middle schools last Friday.
What better way to start the new school year than to help train the next generation of lifesavers? That’s what Tampa Electric is doing by partnering with the American Heart Association (AHA) to provide 35 CPR in Schools Training Kits to Hillsborough County middle schools.
If you think middle schoolers are too young to learn CPR, think again! A recent study tested sixth graders and their capacity to use Hands-Only CPR to save lives. The study found that the majority of children could perform CPR in the correct location and at the appropriate compression rate, making this a viable group to train to help save lives.
Vice President of Safety and Security Heidi Whidden represented Tampa Electric during an Aug. 4 presentation at Jefferson High School in Tampa. “Tampa Electric is proud to help put more qualified lifesavers in our communities,” said Heidi. “If our colleague Derek Stock taught us anything with his harrowing tale, it’s that seconds matter when someone has a cardiac arrest. Immediate CPR can double or triple someone’s chances of survival.”
“Thanks to the generous support from Tampa Electric, this year's presenting Tampa Bay Heart Walk sponsor, 35 middle schools in Hillsborough County are now equipped with CPR in Schools Training Kits,” said AHA Vice President of Development Nina Morgan. “The goal is to train 10,500 children living in the highest need neighborhoods.”
After distributing these lifesaving training kits during last Friday’s special event, AHA trainers also provided a detailed Hands-Only CPR demonstration to an auditorium full of Hillsborough County Public School teachers.
“Everyone was so grateful for the training, tools and resources TECO provided so that, together we can train more lifesavers in our community,” said Nina. “We can't wait to see the difference these kits make in our community!”
You, too, can make a difference with a donation to Tampa Electric’s Heart Walk team today. Remember, the more we raise, the more lives we save.
Hillsborough County Public School teachers learned Hands-Only CPR during the special presentation by the American Heart Association and Tampa Electric
