A new partnership between the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and Highland Community College is giving high school students in Brown County the opportunity to learn how to save lives and earn college credit at the same time.
The program called “Teen Lifesaver Initiative” is expected to kick off in April and will provide lifesaving skills to all high school students of Brown County.
“We will be going into the two high schools in Brown County (Hiawatha USD 415 and Horton USD 430) to teach and certify every high school student in CPR, First Aid, and the proper use of an AED (Automated External Defibrillator),” J.D. Clary, with Brown County Sheriff’s Office said. “We intend to to this at no cost to the schools or the students receiving the training and certification.”
Clary said it’s in partnership with Highland Community College so students who successfully complete the program will receive .5 of college credit.
The cost to start up the program is expected at around $23,000 and includes training and certification of instructors, manikins to use during the training, books, masks and other required materials.
However, there will be no out of pocket cost to the school districts or the students. The sheriff’s office said it will be funded through the Sheriff’s Office Community Education Fund and by grants and donations made by corporations and individuals
“This initiative was the brain child of John Merchant, our Sheriff,” Clary said.
A donation of manikins valued at more than $800 from the National Auto Dealers Charitable foundation will aid in the program. The presentation is scheduled to take place at the Hiawatha Ford dealership in Hiawatha, Kansas (1814 Oregon
Street) on Monday March 9, 2015 at 1:30 PM.
“It is our intention to go forward with whatever funding we have to complete our goal of educating our teens ready to preserve life in our county,” the department said in a White Paper-Teen Lifesaver Initiative issued by Clary.