HILLSBOROUGH: Grant will expand life-saving training

By Eileen Oldfield, Staff Writer
   $4,200 in total grant money will go toward training seven school nurses to teach CPR and Automated External Defibrillator use, allowing the nurses train school staff to administer CPR and use an Automated External Defibrillator.
   Youth Heart Watch at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia offers the grant, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Lisa Antunes said. Nurses at Amsterdam, Hillsborough, Sunnymead, Woodfern, and Woods Road Elementary Schools, Auten Road Intermediate School, and Hillsborough High School will receive the money for the training.
   Money from the grant will be used for the nurse’s training, training supplies, and training materials, Dr. Antunes said.
   The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is affiliated with Project ADAM, a Wisconsin-based not-for-profit organization that helps schools determine the need for Automated External Defibrillator, and assists with finding funding for the machines.
   The grant follows the training 19 school administrators received in 2008. During the training session, approximately principals, vice principals, district supervisors, and the assistant superintendent learned CPR, Automated External Defibrillator use, and Epi-Pen use. The Hillsborough Rescue Squad trained the staff, at a $50 per person cost.