According to the American Heart Association, one in every 125 high schools will experience a cardiac emergency each year. While cardiac arrest is a rare occurrence in a school setting, it does occur and can be life-threatening. Recently, a Broadwater High School student’s life was saved using cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and an automated external defibrillator (AED) located in the school. In 2017, Montana passed First Aid Training in Schools (MCA 20-7-1315) which encourages Montana school districts to provide a program of study in first aid, CPR, and install and have ready-to-use AEDs.
There are many resources available to help schools prepare for a cardiac emergency. The Cardiac Ready Communities Program at the Montana Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is an excellent resource for schools; this organization has created a toolkit to assist schools in determining their readiness to handle a cardiac emergency and provides recommendations to schools to be fully prepared. For more information about the Cardiac Ready Communities Program, information on-site AED trainers, and information on registering AEDs at your school, contact Janet Trethewey (JTrethewey@mt.gov or 406-444-0442) or visit the Cardiac Ready Communities website.
For more information on AED tools and resources, including potential grant funding for AEDs, visit OPI’s AED & First Aid in Schools website.
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There are two wonderful opportunities to get up and get moving this winter and spring. The first is the “Keep it Moving Challenge” presented through the American Public Health Association (APHA). This challenge runs from January 1st through April 10th and participants can compete either as an individual or as a member of a team.
If you haven’t participated before, APHA’s Keep It Moving Challenge [nphw.org] is a great way to focus on being active every day. Heka Health has added a list of activities that can be converted to steps, so you can keep your momentum going beyond walking and running! The app focuses on movement and covers a wide range of mobilities. APHA will continue to share new ideas for ways to move throughout the challenge to help keep participants motivated so everyone can hit the ground actively (running, walking, wheeling, or playing.)
The second opportunity is right in our own backyard. It is the annual Big Sky Fit Kids! This program has been created for a classroom or group of kids who are working to stay active. There will be a grand prize drawing on April 5th for $500 and every team that enters and completes the 60-day program will be eligible to win. Everyone who enters will receive weekly emails and will be able to log their activity through this program.
You can log on to bigskyfitkids.org or use the URL Code below to register.
Preventing Opioid Overdose in Schools
Opioids are a class of drugs that include heroin and certain types of pain relievers that can be obtained through a prescription from a doctor. It is illegal to use prescription pain medication that is not prescribed to you or in a way that diverges from the prescribed use as opioids are highly addictive and dangerous if misused. In Montana, the majority of drug overdose incidents in adults are attributed to opioid use. In 2021, 12% of Montana high school students reported using a prescription pain medication (e.g. codeine, Vicodin, OxyContin, Hydrocodone, Percocet) without a doctor’s prescription at some point in their life, and 1.5% of students self-reported heroin use (2021 YRBS data).
To combat the potentially life-threatening effects of opioids, in 2017, Montana passed House Bill 323, which allows schools to be prescribed to maintain a stock supply of opioid antagonists, such as Naloxone, in the event of an emergency overdose situation. Opioid antagonists block the effects of opioids on the brain and can restore the normal brain and breathing function of a person who is experiencing an overdose thereby saving his/her life. If your school is interested in establishing policies for maintaining opioid antagonists, you can find more information by contacting Emma Perry, Health Education Specialist for opioids with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (emma.perry@mt.gov).
Another way to safeguard students from opioid misuse is by eliminating access to them. Prescription drug drop box locations can be found across the state and aid in the safe disposal of potentially dangerous prescription drugs. Schools can educate parents and caregivers about the dangers of opioid misuse and how to properly dispose of any type of prescription drug that is no longer needed. For more information and other school-based strategies please check out this resource, Awareness, Education, and Collaboration: Promising School-based Opioid Prevention Approaches.
For more information and resources please visit the OPI’s Alcohol and Drug Prevention website.
There are few schools in Montana that have not been impacted by student vaping. The OPI Tobacco Use Prevention Education program is currently scheduling student vaping prevention presentations for Montana schools. If you'd like to inquire about scheduling these presentations for your students, click here.
Thank you for your efforts to ensure your students are well-informed about how costly nicotine addiction can be.
For more information contact Kris Minard at kminard@mt.gov or 406.444.0785. You'll find additional tobacco use prevention resources for schools here.
The OPI is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation, require an alternate format, or have questions concerning accessibility, contact the OPI ADA Coordinator, 406-444-3161, opiada@mt.gov, Relay Service: 711.
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