The $89,906 Gift from Tomball Regional Health Foundation Marks Second-Largest  Foundation Gift in the Nation, Estimated to Benefit 18,000 Students

TOMBALL, TX – American Heart Association (AHA) is pleased to present six Houston-area school districts, including Cypress-Fairbanks, Klein, Magnolia, Spring, Tomball Waller, and the private high school, Concordia Lutheran, with the second-largest CPR in Schools foundation gift, thanks to a momentous donation by Tomball Regional Health Foundation.

The American Heart Association wants to create the next generation of lifesavers by helping prepare more students, their teachers and their families to save lives. CPR in Schools can accomplish this with quick, convenient CPR training in a classroom setting.

This generous donation to Houston school districts will fund 123 CPR in Schools Training Kits and 100 CPR Anytime® Kits used to teach more than 18,000 students and 350 community members this lifesaving skill. The AHA will donate kits to all six of the school districts during a check presentation and CPR demonstration at Tomball High School on Wednesday, May 27 from 9 to 10 a.m.

Media are invited to attend a check presentation and demonstration in Tomball High School’s gymnasium. Following the presentation, approximately 50 students will learn Hands-Only™ CPR by the American Heart Association using the gifted kits.

Representatives from the participating public independent school districts, will be in attendance and available for interviews.

“We are thrilled to help the American Heart Association share CPR resources and training in our school districts,” said Jack Smith, chairman of the Board at Tomball Regional Health Foundation. “This is a fantastic opportunity to help students learn the steps necessary to save a life.”

Kids learning bystander CPR may be the answer to reducing deaths from the more than 326,000 cardiac arrests that occur outside of a hospital each year. Sadly, most of these victims die, often because bystanders don’t know how to start CPR, or are afraid they’ll do something wrong. The AHA believes kids may be the answer to saving more lives.

This gift comes two years after the State of Texas signed a bill into law requiring all middle school and high school level students to complete a psychomotor skill-based CPR class before graduating school. The AHA was instrumental in fighting for the Texas Education Code to require school districts and open-enrollment charter schools to provide CPR instruction to students in grades 7 through 12, at least once before graduation. This year, all incoming seniors will be required to successfully complete this state-mandated skill.

Tomball Regional Health Foundation (TRHF) is the new name of the Tomball Hospital Authority (THA).  The THA was the owner and operator of the Tomball Regional Medical Center from its founding in 1976 up until its sale in 2011.  TRHF’s mission is to promote wellness and improve health status for all residents in our communities through programs that enhance access to health care, preventative care and health education.Please visit the new TRHF website at www.trhfoundation.org for more information regarding the foundation.

American Heart Association (AHA) CPR in Schools Initiative - Since 2011, the American Heart Association has been working with communities and other organizations to prepare more students, their teachers and families to save lives with CPR in Schools. Lawmakers in 22 states are requiring all students to be trained in psychomotor skill-based CPR before graduating from high school. That means more than one million students will be trained in CPR each year, resulting in millions of qualified lifesavers in our communities. Teaching students in school how to administer CPR will help increase the chance that a victim of cardiac arrest has the help they need until paramedics arrive.

Media Contact:
Marilyn Kinyo, Tomball Regional Health Foundation
(832) 559-7148 or mkinyo@trhfoundation.org