Published: March 05, 2008 10:17 pm         

Senate gives final OK to CPR/first-aid legislation

CHARLESTON —Teaching students the basics of first-aid and how to administer CPR in West Virginia’s secondary school classrooms is an idea that sets well with the two doctors in the Senate.

Make that the entire Senate, for that matter.

By a unanimous vote Wednesday, the upper chamber passed and sent to Gov. Joe Manchin a House bill designed by Delegate Margaret Staggers, D-Fayette, to put CPR and first-aid as mandatory instruction in the health curriculum.

Staggers, an emergency room physician at Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital, drew her inspiration from Jeff Green, a paramedic with two volunteer firefighting units in Wyoming County.

Her theory was that the more people equipped to offer CPR and basic first-aid, the higher chances of survival for someone who suddenly becomes stricken in the general public.

Sens. Ron Stollings, D-Boone, and Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, both physicians, endorsed the concept.

“I think it will serve the public well,” Stollings said.

Foster’s only condition is that such instruction come by the hands of practiced teachers.

“It’s something that can’t hurt,” the Charleston surgeon said. “As long as it’s taught in a way by experienced folks. It will be good for our young people to be at least aware of the basics.”

CPR, however, is a technique that must be done properly, he emphasized.

“That’s the thing I want to make sure of,” Foster said. “If it’s done wrong, it can actually be harmful. If it’s done right, it can be life-saving.”

Stollings pointed out the Staggers bill contained no requirement for actual certification but merely is something that will be added to the health courses in public schools.

He agreed with Staggers that the measure could ultimately spell the difference between life and death.

Students given instruction will be more confident in knowing how to stop a bleeding wound or perform resuscitation.

“I think it’s a great public health move,” he added.