Hoboken High School sophomore Francesca Sciarra wants to be a lifeguard.
So Sciarra paid particular attention Wednesday afternoon as she learned the intricacies of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Hoboken High was one of only seven New Jersey High Schools chosen by American Heart Association to receive CPR training as part of National CPR Week.
A hundred Hoboken High school students took last week’s the class.
“If there was ever an emergency, we now know what to do,” she Sciarra said. “Everyone should take this class.”
Hold on to your mannequin
One hundred mannequins littered the cafeteria floor as the students were shown a video presentation on how to properly administer CPR.
Six EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) were present to assist in the demonstration, as well as four representatives from Jersey City Medical Center, which coordinated the class in conjunction with the American Heart Association. The Hoboken Police Department and several teachers all attended.
Eyesha Marable, The American Heart Association’s Youth Market Manager, said that CPR can be a valuable skill for high school students to possess.
“I think it’s amazing. It should be replicated in every high school in the United States. It’s a way to get kids back into saving lives and not taking them,” Marable said. “The interest and enthusiasm these kids showed today is one of the reasons Hoboken High School was selected.”
Student reactions
Sophomore Darius Wright, who is also considering taking an EMT course, enjoyed the class.
“It was a good learning experience. The things you learn here could be used in an everyday life situation.”
Sophomore Nadya Miranda added that the class was enjoyable. “It taught me a lot, things I never knew before, but should have,” Miranda said.
Sophomore Kleber Vera, who has already decided to take an EMT course next year, said that classes like this make him want to become a paramedic.
“I liked it, it taught me stuff I can use to save someone’s life one day,” he said.
Hoboken High also has ongoing emergency program
In addition to the CPR class, Hoboken High is the only school in New Jersey that sponsors its own Emergency Response Team.
In the hours following the attack on Sept. 11, two former Hoboken High School Students, Helen Yao and Michele Martinovich, volunteered at the emergency triage set up at the path station. These civil-minded actions earned the students a Youth Star of Life award from the state’s Department of Health and led to the creation of Hoboken High’s Emergency Response Team (ERT).
Along with Joseph Miele, the districts coordinator of service learning, the teens envisioned a program that would ensure the readiness of both the students and staff at Hoboken High, if ever a medical emergency resurfaced in or around the town.
The ERT program is designed to prepare the students for the EMT course. The curriculum includes, but is not limited to: CPR, emergency child birth, controlling bleeding, broken bones, poison and how to react to strokes or heart attacks. Upon completion of the program, the students receive a CPR proficiency and First Response Certification from the American Red Cross.
Melanie Alberto-Kolmer, the current director of the program, is in the process of replacing Joseph Miele as the service learning coordinator and emergency response coordinator.
Kolmer said that the program is a great asset to the school.
“We’re building interest amongst the younger students and in addition to preparing them for medical emergencies, we’re promoting ways they can live a healthier life as they get older,” Kolmer said.
The ERT program also receives guidance and training from Dr. Angelo Caprio of St. Mary’s Hospital and Tom Molta of the Hoboken Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
The current ERT
The current Emergency Response Team is comprised of 15 Hoboken High students. During this year’s training cycle, every student assisted in the trauma unit in the ER at the Jersey City Medical Center. The students also traveled to Newark to observe five autopsies at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
In the Spring of 2005, the ERT received an ambulance from the town of Blairstown. Hoboken High became the first high school in New Jersey to have its own ambulance. Though it is fully equipped and ready to respond to a medical emergency, it is still waiting to be insured, Miele said.
Miele summed up the program’s impact. “Kids are training to save lives, to be there when others need them. It’s a lifelong experience that stays with them forever.”
So far three Hoboken High School seniors who were enrolled in the ERT course went on to become EMT certified, a fourth was scheduled to take the on Friday and two more are scheduled to take the test in May.