The new requirement, signed into law just before the end of 2016, will make it mandatory that Michigan schools train students on hands-only cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, and the use of defibrillators at least once between grades 7 and 12.

Known as the CPR in School bill, the legislation passed by a vote of 98-8 in the state House and unanimously in the Senate.

It doesn’t take effect until the 2017-18 school year starts next fall, so districts do have a few months to figure out how to get the training in place.

But Kingsford High School needs no time to adjust, as the Breitung Township Schools District has provided CPR and AED training for the past five years. Teachers Kevin Murdock and Jim Myllyla both are American Heart Association-certified instructors, KHS Assistant Principal Doug Roberts said.

For the past five years students in seventh and ninth grades in the Breitung Township Schools have become CPR/AED certified through the help of their health teachers. Shown here with Jim Myllyla are seventh graders, from left, Danny Weber and Brook Bittinger.

The training is done in seventh and ninth grades, from which students receive certificates good for two years, Roberts said.

“We also offer before- and after-school training to any juniors and seniors who wish to keep their certification current. We feel that this is a good investment in our students, our schools and our community,” Roberts said.

Although the state law doesn’t require certification like the BTS students receive, Roberts said the training is a step in the right direction for Michigan public schools.

Iron Mountain Public School students also already get CPR training in eighth grade from teacher Matt Wonders.

This spring, Wonders will incorporate CPR instruction into the project-based learning or FUTURES sessions available to students in grades 7 to 12 during the last six weeks of school, Iron Mountain High School Principal Mark Herman said.

Maddy Holmes, left, and Hannah Strutz perform chest compressions on dummies for a CPR class at KHS.

“And as we move forward, we will continue with the certified training to deliver the updated techniques in CPR within the eighth-grade curriculum on a yearly basis,” Herman said.

Nearly 357,000 people annually go into cardiac arrest outside of a hospital setting, the AHA reports, with only 8 percent surviving. But CPR can nearly triple survival rates by keeping the person going until emergency medical crews can arrive, according to the AHA, which has praised the new Michigan law.

“I am pleased our district will be able to provide this essential training to our students,” Herman said.

Michigan joins 35 other states and the District of Columbia that already have laws requiring CPR training before graduation.

The hands-only CPR, which has chest compressions only rather than mouth-to-mouth breathing, can be taught in just 30 minutes and easily incorporated into school health classes. The law is written so that students also can learn CPR by watching a video and practicing on a mannequin.

Both Breitung Township Schools and Iron Mountain schools have automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, on site, as do a number of other schools and public buildings.

Improved training and access to AEDs could save 50,000 lives each year, according to the American Red Cross. An AED, officials added, is the only effective treatment for restoring a regular heart rhythm during sudden cardiac arrest. And the AED is easy to operate for someone with no medical background.

The AHA has committed $120,000 in Michigan to provide some resources and equipment for schools to use. It also will help to connect schools to volunteers across the state who can provide training and answer questions.

Unlike other state mandates, schools should have little to no cost to meet the requirement, officials said. Districts can readily find local resources to help them, such as EMTs, paramedics, police officers, firefighters, training teachers or representatives of the American Red Cross of AHA.

Linda Lobeck can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 29, or llobeck@ironmountaindailynews.com.