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EmpowermentThe mission of the Alaska Nurses Association is to advance and support the profession of nursing in Alaska. We are a voice for and represent over 7,000 nurses across the entire state of Alaska.
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Alaska Nurses Association News 
Labor Program
Nurses union united for quality patient care
Dear Governor Parnell:
One behalf of the Alaska Nurses Association-Labor Program, we are requesting your support of the Loren Marshall Foundation’s Capital Budget request to train all 8th graders in the State in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Many of the nurses in our program work in hospitals across the state. We are the frontline care givers who see the miracles that occur when people receive high quality CPR in the field. Although, CPR is at times not successful in returning individuals to their pre cardiac arrest quality of life, it is the best we have to increase those odds. People are often placed in situations that could have made a difference in someone’s life had they just known what to do if someone was not breathing.
Tragedies occur daily that can have a profound impact on people’s lives. This program will give these young Alaskans the tools to make a difference in someone else’s life. I could share with you many stories that would have possibly turned out differently had someone been able to open an airway or perform CPR. It only takes 4-5 minutes for irreversible brain damage to occur if someone is not breathing. Family’s lives are forever changed when this happens. We have the opportunity to improve outcomes by teaching the skills that will hopefully positively impact anyone with an obstructed airway or cardiac arrest before Emergency personnel arrives.
I urge you to support this program that teaches young people how to give to someone else.
Thanks for all you do for Alaskans.
Regards,
Donna Phillips, BSN, RN
Alaska Nurses Association
Labor Council chair