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Student Run Organization Advocates for Stricter CPR Laws
HAMES, a student run national nonprofit organization is advocating for stricter CPR laws in high schools.
The High School Association of Medical Engineers & Scientists, Inc. (HAMES), a New Jersey-based nonprofit organization that exposes high school students to medical opportunities through volunteerism and community outreach, made an announcement late-December regarding "the start of a new project", which according to Christian Ventura in a YouTube video, the Founder and Former President of HAMES, "has never been done before". They call it the Student Samaritan Initiative.
According to the HAMES website in 2017, the Student Samaritan Initiative orginially had one mission;
Petition the amendment of the New Jersey Assembly Bill 2072 that requires CPR training (certification not required) in all public high schools prior to graduation. This amendment would enforce that proof of CPR training must be provided to the Motor Vehicle Commission prior to the approval of a permit for a high school minor. This would allow for the stronger enforcement of CPR training amongst high school students.
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Since February of 2018, HAMES has worked closely with the American Heart Association New Jersey branch and Monmouth County Library to promote Hands-Only CPR training to teenagers.
In March of 2018, the HAMES Special Projects Committee began collaborating with New Jersey District 11 Legislative Officials, where the goal shifted to create an entire new bill rather than the initial anticipated amendment.
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On July 19th, Ventura called on Sen. Cory Booker and Gov. Phil Murphy in a Tweet to expedite the legislative process in hopes to save more lives from Sudden Cardiac Arrest, a deadly condition that kills 350,000 Americans annually according to the American Heart Association.
Ventura describes the HAMES Research Committee, which includes Aryaan Singh, Amr Ahmed, Jessica David, and Jiya Passey as the “brains of the operation”.
Ventura announced his scheduled departure in March for an out of state university. Srujanesh Gunda and Gabrielle Vaccaro, now active Student President and Student Vice President respectively, plan to replicate the Student Samaritan Iniative Bill on a national scale if proven to be successful in New Jersey.
