TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Florida lags behind the rest of the country when it comes to CPR training. Thirty-two states have passed laws requiring CPR training in public high schools but Florida has not.

Now the American Heart Association and Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital are teaming up on a local level to train high school students in Hillsborough County.

These juniors and seniors at Blake High School in Tampa are learning hands-on CPR which doesn’t require mouth to mouth resuscitation. It’s easier to remember and less intimidating.

Pediatric Cardiologist Dr. Gary Stapleton says: “You don’t have to worry about how many chest compressions do I give before I give a breath. If you just go up and give chest compressions and they learn how to do it at the right pace and effectively and give firm compressions then it’s really not that hard to do.”

Blake High School Senior Karina Bhutta started a club at blake called CURE. It consists of about fifty students who are invested in health and wellness. Bhutta became a certified EMT two years ago and thinks it’s important all high schoolers learn basic CPR.

“I noticed a lot of people were just kind of unsure.

So, I wanted to give them the opportunity to be able to learn the skill because it’s so important and because it can save a life.”

With CPR training kits now being placed in all public high schools in Hillsborough County, 12-thousand new lifesavers will be trained every year.WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON RIGHT NOW: