Hoag Hospital Aids Lifesaving Program

With a gift from Hoag hospital, Costa Mesa firefighter Val Santo will be able to meet his goal of training high school students in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach in basic lifesaving techniques.

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian donated $17,000 to the program for equipment to teach cardiopulmonary resuscitation, emergency asthma treatments and other lifesaving techniques at Newport-Mesa Unified School District campuses.

Santo said many people lose their lives simply because nobody around them has had basic training in emergency first aid.

“In 16 years I have come across it less than 10 times . . . where someone on the scene knows how to perform CPR,” he said.

The first group of students will go through CPR certification in May at Costa Mesa High School.

Heather Somers, a Costa Mesa councilwoman who helped Santo raise money, said she hopes the program will be adopted by all school districts in the county.

“I am so excited to see it coming to fruition,” Somers said. “If I do nothing else in four years in council, I can at least say I was involved in this.”