Hauppauge High hosts Save-a-Life CPR class

They counted compressions as the song "Staying Alive" played in the background.

CPR trainer Peter Leis went through the motions: Ask if a person is OK. Get someone to call 911. Begin chest compressions.

While others swam in the school swimming pool or practiced their sport of choice on playing fields, more than 60 students and area residents learned the basics of CPR on Saturday in the Hauppauge High School cafeteria.

Called Save-a-Life Saturday, the American Red Cross session taught the new, preferred hands-only CPR method and ways to control bleeding.

"I feel a lot more confident than I did before," said Michael Kiesel, 15, a sophomore at St. Anthony's High School who lives in Northport.

Kiesel, a Boy Scout, hopes to be a lifeguard and took the training to get more education. "I want to know how to save a life if it comes down to it," he said.

The Hauppauge session was one of 100 American Red Cross events held across the country in honor of Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head during a January event she hosted in Tucson. Six people were killed in the attack.

Doctors said Giffords, who is recovering at a Houston rehab center, was saved by getting immediate medical attention.

"Had it not been for an intern in her office named Daniel Hernandez, she may not have survived," said Rep. Steve Israel, (D-Dix Hills). "He had the skills and the training to keep her alive.

"Every tragedy teaches a lesson," he said.

Suffolk County's Red Cross chapter hosted the Hauppauge event, offering two free sessions. A similar program was sponsored at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola by the Nassau chapter.