Girl Scout Organizes CPR Training Class: 'Somebody Will Be Saved'
By Jeff Todd
NORTHGLENN, Colo. (CBS4) - When Amy Tomshack saw the scenes unfolding in Parkland, Florida she thought about her own school and how she could help if a similar situation unfolded at Northglenn High School.
"I thought to myself 'How many of those 17 people would still be here today if somebody had known how to do CPR or put on a tourniquet?'" asked Tomshack.
She couldn't stop thinking about how more people needed to know CPR and first-aid on campus. In June, she came up with an idea, a class, to have paramedics teach both students and teachers in hands-only CPR and how to treat a wound. She's also earning a Girl Scouts Gold Award for her work.
"This is what I'm passionate about," Tomshack said. "I want to be a nurse one day and knowing this information will help me out so much."
Two paramedics from North Metro Fire Department spent Wednesday afternoon inside a classroom. Teachers, a counselor and about a dozen students took part in the class. Tomshack said it wasn't hard to find people willing to participate.
TOGETHER 4 COLORADO: Latest Stories | Watch 'Together With Karen Leigh' | Share A Together 4 Colorado Story Idea With CBS4
"Somebody will be saved," she said about the training. "I don't want that to happen to me, my friends, my siblings."
Tomshack is hoping to have more classes and even hold a donation drive to get enough supplies to have bleeding kits placed around campus.
Jeff Todd joined the CBS4 team in 2011 covering the Western Slope in the Mountain Newsroom. Since 2015 he's been working across the Front Range in the Denver Headquarters. Follow him on Twitter @CBS4Jeff.