South Gibson Co. High School receives CPR kit

MEDINA, Tenn. — A local school receives potentially life-saving tools.

“It’s not something they’ll just use while they’re here in high school, but when they’re adults in our communities and workplaces, they’ll have the opportunity to use the skills they’ve learned,” South Gibson County High School Principal Phil Rogers said.

South Gibson County High School received a new CPR kit donated by the American Heart Association, along with White and Associates Insurance.

“Teaching hands-on CPR is part of the standards for wellness in the state of Tennessee,” wellness teacher Carla Wyatt said. “It’s going to be a great asset to have this for our classrooms to be able to use as we teach the students.”

In 2012, Tennessee passed that unfunded mandate.

Before Wednesday, South Gibson County High School didn’t have the equipment.

American Heart Association’s regional director for West Tennessee, Christy Futrell, said they wanted to partner up and fulfill the need. “We want to live in a culture and society where everyone knows how to save a life,” she said.

The kit contains many tools to teach students.

“There’s the curriculum, there’s DVDs, there’s 10 Annes to inflate to use for hands-only compressions, and so much more,” Futrell said.

Wyatt said they plan to start using the new tools in a few weeks.

“It’s a huge thing, I think, for these kids to learn how to do CPR. You never know when you’re going to be put in those situations you’re not expecting,” Wyatt said.

Futrell says all Madison County schools have the equipment, but this is the first Gibson County school to receive it.