Community donations bring CPR training kits to local schools

DEFIANCE, Ohio (WTVG) – The difference between life and death, according to Defiance High School health teacher Tiffany Zipfel, is education.

“That’s human nature, we want to help each other, but sometimes we don’t have the skills right away,” she says. “So by coming to school and learning CPR, they now have these skills that one day they may have to use and it could save somebody’s life.”

The state of Ohio requires all high school students to learn basic life-saving skills like CPR. Defiance teachers and staff want Bulldog students to be prepared today for any type of health emergency that could happen tomorrow.

“I feel that at any age a person can learn the skills, understand them, and have that comfort of knowing what to do if something happens,” says Zipfel.

“Something like 70 percent of heart events happen outside of the health care setting, so it is very likely that students here will encounter someone who needs help,” says Defiance City Schools District Nurse Cara Sterken.

On Friday, school staff were given a CPR training kit from the American Heart Association of Ohio. The kit includes inflatable mannequins, AED simulators, and lesson plans. Defiance faculty say the kit contains everything necessary for a student to learn how to save a life.

“I feel like it really is the gift that keeps on giving, especially when they are in the classroom and they actually have mannequins to practice on,” says Sterken. “They don’t just have to watch a video but they can actually practice with an AED and a mannequin.”

American Heart Association staff work year-round with local sponsors to bring kits and other valuable educational resources to schools across Northwest Ohio. NAI Harmon — a commercial real estate brokerage, property management firm, and land development group — provided the CPR kit donation to Defiance High School.

Staff with the American Heart Association’s Ohio chapter also offer CPR classes, guidance, and tips to the public on their website.

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