This year, the First Aid and CPR club is being revitalized by sophomore Mariam Hannosh and health and PE teacher Mr. Chris Sulages. 

The club will focus on simple first aid procedures, the maneuvers of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) machine, and also disaster preparedness. 

“I’m kind of getting tired not knowing what to do,” Hannosh said. “So I just want to be prepared.”

Mr. Sulages describes first aid as an “emergency response,” and something that you would use before paramedics are able to reach the scene. 

The First Aid and CPR club will prepare students for many types of possible emergency situations, whether that be helping someone who is suffering from a massive wound, an epileptic seizure, a severe allergic reaction, or other medical emergencies. 

Mr. Sulages says that learning first aid and CPR is important in the La Salle community to quicken the response time in case of an emergency. “You never know when something’s going to happen,” Mr. Sulages said. “Like I’ve never been allergic to something, but you never know. There could be something in a package where all of a sudden I do have an allergic response.”

Having a quick response time can also save lives, especially if there is a medical emergency in which a person is suffering from a heart attack. If someone is able to start treating that person before the paramedics arrive, it doubles the victim’s chance of survival. 

Through the club, Hannosh and Mr. Sulages also want to bring awareness to different medical conditions such as allergies, heart conditions, and epilepsy. They hope that if there is ever a medical emergency dealing with conditions like these, people will have knowledge of what they are and how to handle them.  

Knowing what to do beforehand to avoid feeling clueless in an emergency situation has been an important part of learning first aid and CPR for Hannosh. “You can’t really pitch in stuff you don’t know how to do,” Hannosh said. 

As a former college football coach, Mr. Sulages has had a lot of experience with first aid and CPR, but for Hannosh this is still very new. 

When Mr. Sulages first started learning first aid and CPR, he felt it was forced upon him, as every coach must go through the training, but he has since found the value in it. 

“When you start going through the class you realize how common it is, and you want to go,” Mr. Sulages said. 

During his time coaching, Mr. Sulages has witnessed firsthand how to administer first aid. While he has not directly dealt with injured people, he was able to call 911.  

Hannosh has just started to get into first aid and CPR this year, looking for ways to help others in her community and grow in her love for science. 

“I have a responsibility of helping people learn first aid, which is kind of a big deal for me because I don’t want to get it wrong,” Hannosh said. “So I really have to get my game up.”

So far the club has not had any meetings, but once Mr. Sulages is recertified as a CPR instructor, meetings will most likely happen during flex time. 

“I hope it will be really positive and welcoming for everyone,” Hannosh said.