Destrehan High School Health Science students can answer "yes" with confidence.  Motiva Norco Safety Inspector Mary Aubert and Nurse Practitioner Denise Bilelo recently certified the students in Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

CPR is an emergency chest compression method of maintaining oxygen supply to the body allowing vital organs to function utnil professional medical help arrives.  In recent studies, the compression method of assisting a non-responsive individual has shown to be more efficient than mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

"It's always best to call 9-1-1 in an emergency," stated Aubert.  "But knowing and applying CPR may mean the difference between life and death for a loved one.  Statistics show that effective CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double a victim's chance of survival.  It's very important to know the basics of CPR."

Aubert noted the Destrehan Health Science students, who are interested in purcusing a career in the medical field, are an appropriate audience to learn the life-saving skill.  "It's good to begin learning CPR in high school, because many teens have their older grandparents living with them," she explained.  "This is a skill they may need to use at some point.  The majority of the class was very interested and asked many questions.  Two of the students sopoke about helping someone who was choking.

"It's always rewarding to teach someone who really wants to learn.  Not only were the students interested, but their teachers were as well," she continued. 

"Our student struly enjoyed the experience," stated Science Chair and Health Science teacher Kelly Young whose students participated in the class along with Health Science teacher Joey Brady's class.  "It was definitely appropriate for high school students.  After the class, the students created their own step-by-step instruction cards so they could remember what they learned.  I loved being able to bring real-life application into the classroom where the relevance is obvious."

"To know that I can save a life from learning CPR made me feel as if I was on top of the world," said student Meghan Williams.  "When learning how to do CPR I was focused and really acting as if it was a real person.  I had plenty of help to get the steps right and I had a wonderful time."

For student Taylor Rebowe, "it was real life information that can be used in the real world."

Student Stephanie Munoz agreed.  "It was a life learning experience," she said.  "I can save someone's life now."

"The instructions were very patient with helping us to prepare for real life experiences," commented student Amanda Sensebe.

"They had a new techniuque for our class where there was no test," added student Nicole Robinson.  "They just watched everyone to make sure we were doing it right.  It was a fun experience.  To my surprise, it was easy."

"Thank you for coming," student Olivia Peavler told the Motiva instructors.  "I really appreciate your teaching us CPR and I can use it in future emergencies"

The experience was also gratifying for Aubert.  "The most rewarding aspect of the experience was returning to Destrehan the following week to deliver the students' CPR certification cards," she explained.  "They were appreciativeand exicted to receive the cards acknowledging their newly earned skill."

Destrehan High School is one of Motiva's Partner in Education schools.

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