Rockford — Rockford High School has equipped a group of sophomores, juniors and seniors with the skills to save lives.
This spring, as part of a National Honor Society project, juniors Averill Timmer and Addison Smith spearheaded an effort to bring in the Plainfield Township Fire Department to lead a CPR training class at the high school.
The American Heart Association’s Heartsaver CPR course took place at the RHS Creative Technological Learning Center, with more than 30 high-schoolers participating. Every one of them left the training with a CPR certification.
“If you think about it, now we have 32 more people in our community that can save a life if something happens, which is pretty significant,” said Averill.
A Big Impact
The two juniors were independently planning to organize a CPR training for their NHS projects. When each learned that the other had the same idea, they decided to collaborate.
Both students were already CPR-certified, and they knew the benefits of having those skills.
“My idea in my head was, we have all these Rockford students. If we send them all out of high school CPR-trained, you’re giving all this training to the world that could make a big impact,” Addison said. “And starting with Rockford was really cool.”
Averill, who plans to be a doctor someday, wanted to take on a project that would “impact the health and safety of our community.” She said knowing CPR has boosted her confidence and given her a sense of pride that she wanted her fellow students to share.
Once Averill and Addison joined forces, they started thinking of ways to handle the cost. They turned to the Rockford Education Foundation for help, writing a $500 grant application outlining the benefits of school CPR training and why it’s important.
‘If you think about it, now we have 32 more people in our community that can save a life if something happens, which is pretty significant.’
— Averill Timmer, RHS junior
One of the REF trustees, Jason Dykstra, is a Plainfield Township firefighter. He told Averill and Addison that his department had wanted to hold a training session in Rockford for some time.
The REF approved the grant request, which more than covered the cost of the roughly $4 certification cards from the American Heart Association. Members of the fire department handled the rest, volunteering their time to lead the training.
‘They wanted to get it right’
The training took about 2½ hours. It included instruction on the effective use of automatic external defibrillators, CPR administration through chest compressions and a breathing apparatus, and more.
Averill said the course also touched on what to say to 911 operators, how to stay calm in emergency situations.
“It’s much more comprehensive than just how to give people chest compressions,” she said.
The response from students was overwhelmingly positive, said Addison.
“I don’t think there was anyone who wasn’t engaged,” she said. “Everyone was very focused. I don’t think I saw anybody looking at their phones the entire time because everybody was so engaged. They … wanted to get it right.”
The class wrapped up with a skills test led by firefighters, after which the students in attendance left with certifications in hand.
Averill and Addison would like to turn the CPR training into a recurring event at RHS.
“We talked about maybe making this an annual project option for students,” Averill said. “Maybe teachers too.”
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