Nashville, TN – In a move that could save many Tennessee lives, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam recently signed the “Carmen Burnette Act of 2012” into law in the presence of volunteers, the Burnette family, and Cookeville, Tennessee EMS.
The Act, supported by the American Heart Association, was introduced by Senator Jim Tracy (R –Shelbyville) and Representative Mike Turner (D- Old Hickory) and passed with overwhelming support by both houses.It adds a hands-on training component to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instruction already being taught to Tennessee high school students. Hands-on instruction has been shown to increase the likelihood that non-medical bystanders will perform CPR in emergency situations, such as sudden cardiac arrest.
The bill was amended by Representative Ryan Williams to be known as the “Carmen Burnette Act of 2012.” Burnette, an EMT from Cookeville TN, played a pivotal role in a very successful CPR school training program in Putnam County before her recent death.