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West MI lawmakers advocate required CPR student training

Rama via Wikimedia | CC BY 2.0

Local lawmakers make a push for bills providing CPR training to Michigan middle and high students. 

State house Representative Tom Hooker and state Senator Tonya Schuitmaker were among multiple west Michigan officials speaking at a Friday press conference for bills requiring all middle and high school students to receive CPR training.

Hooker is a sponsor of the house bill.

He says it’s good policy, but he’s also an advocate as a long-time CPR instructor.

"So I knew the importance of it. But also it was important for me because I had the opportunity like I shared to do CPR on my own son. Who’s 40 now, so it worked well."

"It’s that family member, that loved one that’s close by, that you can keep alive until professionals get there that makes the difference."

The American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology – Michigan Chapter and Michigan State Medical Society are among about a dozen agencies endorsing the bills.

Hooker says the bills would require one educational CPR session per student, either in middle or high school. He says he doesn’t think the training would have a large financial impact on state or local budgets.

If the legislation is signed into law, officials say it would likely start with the next school year.

Hilary is a General Assignment and Enterprise reporter for WGVU Public Media. She joined WGVU in September 2014 after several years of experience as a local news reporter, anchor and photojournalist in Midland, Saginaw and Bay counties. She's also worked as a financial and business reporter and audio field producer.
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