Schools are required by law to conduct various types of drills every year. Staff and students participate in fire drills, tornado drills, sometimes earthquake drills and even lockdown or active shooter drills.
But not every school has practiced how to respond to a medical emergency, and too few educators and adults community-wide know how to administer first aid, CPR or use an automated external defibrillator, authorities said.
Tammie Crowder, a registered nurse with Parkridge Health System, has been working for nearly a decade to change that.
In 2010, Crowder offered to train teachers and staff at Loftis Middle School on the basics of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the warning signs of heart attacks and strokes.
Since then, almost 35 schools in Hamilton County have participated in “Code Blue” trainings offered for free by Parkridge Health System.