CPR Training Could Become School Requirement In Michigan

By DAVID EGGERT/Associated Press

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Health advocates are pushing what's billed as a simple way to have more CPR-trained lifesavers in Michigan: requiring the instruction in school.

The legislation easily cleared the Senate in the spring and is pending in the House. Supporters hope the chamber will vote this month before members breaks again to focus on the November election.

The bill would require that schools provide instruction in CPR and the use of defibrillators at least one time between grades 7 and 12.

The instruction could be for hands-only CPR, a simpler type of training that doesn't require mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

The American Heart Association estimates that performing CPR until medics arrive can triple victims' survival rates, but too often bystanders don't know CPR.

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