LaPorte, Ind. - The 2006 choking death of a northern Indiana elementary school student has focused attention on schools' preparations for emergencies.
Attorney Kenneth J. Allen says the staff at LaPorte's Haillman Elementary School lacked training in CPR and the Heimlich maneuver when 9-year-old Juan Joera choked on a turkey corn dog in September 2006.
District officials have said they did everything possible.
The boy's family has been awarded $5 million in a lawsuit against the LaPorte Community School Corp. The district hasn't decided if it will appeal, but it won't have to pay more than $500,000 because the state caps the amount that can be collected from a government entity.
Allen says money isn't the point.
"If we can prompt one school to implement these plans in the 92 counties of Indiana, then we will have done what we set out to do," he said.
Indiana law requires that newly licensed teachers be certified in CPR and the Heimlich maneuver. The CPR certification lasts for two years.
The training requirement does not apply to license renewals.
Some schools, including South Bend Community School Corp., don't require training for their cafeteria staffs but have other employees trained in the lifesaving procedures.
South Bend offers training twice a month to any staff who want it, said communications director Sue Coney; the four-hour class costs $10, which employees pay.
Other districts have made changes since Juan's death.
John Hutchings, director of student services for Elkhart Community Schools, says the boy's choking "increased our awareness" of cafeteria emergencies.
He said district officials made sure some food service employees were trained in the Heimlich maneuver in each cafeteria.
Night custodians also undergo CPR training, and training in CPR and use of a defibrillator is available to any employee who wants it, he said.
LaPorte officials said after Juan's death that they'd ensure that someone in each school building was trained in the Heimlich maneuver. Ten staff members tried to help the boy, including performing the maneuver, but it took paramedics to remove the obstruction.
"We are going to continue to make student safety a top priority," said LaPorte Superintendent Judith A. DeMuth.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
