Quinn To Sign Law Requiring High Schools To Teach CPR, AED Use
(CBS) -- High school students across the state will soon learn how to perform CPR and other life-saving skills, under legislation Gov. Pat Quinn plans to sign on Thursday.
CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports the measure would require students to receive training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the use of automated external defibrillators. The governor planned to sign the legislation at an event in central Illinois.
Quinn said he wants to make sure all Illinois high school students possess those skills before they graduate.
Schools already are required to have AEDs available in their buildings, but most students never have been trained in their use.
CPR training at Fenwick High School in Oak Park came in handy in January, when student Harry Bell's father went into cardiac arrest at their Elmhurst home, because of a blockage in one of his arteries. Harry and his mother both performed CPR until paramedics arrived, saving Eric Bell's life.