Saving a life isn’t something everyone is trained to do, but educators in Brevard County are changing that.
- Brevard 11th county to make CPR grad requirement
- Student required to learn CPR, AED use, choking relief
- Viera High student gov't to meet w/ local legislators
A lifesaving method will now be taught to all students in the county.
Alexa Sima is an accomplished senior at Viera High — an athlete since childhood and straight A student.
Looking at her, you wouldn’t think she’d been through a life-defying obstacle so early in life.
“I died running,” Alexa explained, “Doing something I had done every single day for my entire life.”
A year and a half ago, while working out at the gym, Alexa went into cardiac arrest, stopping her heart and almost taking her life.
“You never really think it could happen to you,” Alexa said, “You don’t expect it, but I found out it happens to almost 350,000 people a year.”
She lived thanks to CPR, and now she’s made it her mission, working alongside state law makers and the Brevard School district, to make sure everyone knows this lifesaving technique.
A new motion passed by Brevard Schools last week makes them the 11th county in the state to now require all students to learn CPR as part of graduation.
“Right now all of our seniors that are here have to graduate with a CPR certifications ... that means that if anything happens throughout our entire county we are covered here in Brevard,” said Matthew Susin, a Brevard County School District board member.
The new requirement will have students learning CPR, AED use and choking relief.
While it’s not yet a state wide requirement, students like Alexa hope it won’t be long before that happens.
“It can literally happen to anyone, so the fact that you know CPR you can step in and save your friend, your parent, your grandparent,” Sima said. “If they drop to the ground you’re going to know the steps to take to save their life.”
In December, Alexa along with Viera High’s Student Government will meet with local legislators to help get the bill passed statewide.