093_HR0305
LRB093 11741 RAH 15606 r
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, On Labor Day 1992, Christina Jean Spizzirri was
3 involved in a fatal car accident in Illinois; and
4 WHEREAS, The first people to arrive at the scene were
5 local police officers who waited for emergency medical
6 service personnel to administer first aid; and
7 WHEREAS, Despite her injuries, Christina's life might
8 have been saved if prompt basic first aid had been rendered;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, Carol Spizzirri, Christina's mother, discovered
11 that there were no requirements for police, firefighters, 911
12 dispatchers, school teachers, coaches, and other public
13 servants to be trained in lifesaving skills in Illinois; and
14 WHEREAS, Eager to prevent this tragedy from happening
15 again, Carol Spizzirri founded the Save A Life Foundation in
16 1992; and
17 WHEREAS, The Save A Life Foundation is an internationally
18 recognized not-for-profit foundation that is headquartered in
19 Chicago, Illinois, with branches throughout the United States
20 that is dedicated to the promotion and education of
21 life-supporting first aid; and
22 WHEREAS, The Save A Life Foundation has grown to include
23 a team of dedicated volunteers who promote Carol Spizzirri's
24 lifesaving mission, and the Save A Life Foundation medical
25 advisory board includes Dr. Henry Heimlich, father of the
26 Heimlich maneuver and head of the Heimlich Institute, Dr.
27 Peter Safar, developer of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and
28 the head of the Safar Research Center in Pittsburgh,
29 Pennsylvania, and Dr. Stanley Zydlo, father of emergency
30 medical services and Save A Life's medical director; and
-2- LRB093 11741 RAH 15606 r
1 WHEREAS, Working with emergency medical services, fire
2 departments and schools, the Save A Life Foundation has
3 trained more than 43,000 children in the Chicago school
4 district; and
5 WHEREAS, Since the foundation has experienced tremendous
6 growth in the last ten years, it has expanded its program of
7 teaching simple basic first aid to children to a curriculum
8 that now consists of four comprehensive training programs
9 geared to people of all ages; and
10 WHEREAS, The training programs are Save A Life for Kids,
11 Bystander Basics, Bystander Basics Automatic External
12 Defibrillation, and Bystander Advanced; and
13 WHEREAS, Carol Spizzirri has worked closely with
14 national, State and local legislators, heads of state and
15 national emergency health agencies worldwide and is
16 accredited as a pre-emergency specialist, for her role in
17 developing a basic system to train a critical mass of
18 citizens in emergency preparedness; and
19 WHEREAS, Carol Spizzirri worked with Senator Richard
20 Durbin of Illinois on a Federal appropriations bill to fund
21 nationwide promotions and education of life-supporting first
22 aid skills, which President Clinton signed in 1994; and
23 WHEREAS, Carol Spizzirri continues to lead the Save A
24 Life Foundation and assists advocates in Illinois and other
25 states in the training of public safety professionals and
26 children in basic lifesaving emergency skills; therefore, be
27 it
28 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
29 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
30 we honor Carol Spizzirri on her accomplishments with the Save
31 A Life Foundation and proclaim May 18th through May 24, 2003
-3- LRB093 11741 RAH 15606 r
1 as Save A Life Week in honor of the foundation's ten year
2 anniversary of saving lives throughout the nation; and be it
3 further
4 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5 presented to Carol Spizzirri as expression of our respect and
6 esteem.