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Hannah's Law: Bill Would Broaden Day Care CPR Training

By Pat Kessler, WCCO-TV

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- A little girl who died after being rushed to the hospital from her day care is at the center of a new bill introduced at the Minnesota State Capitol.

Hannah Kozitza choked on a grape at Golden Heart Child Care Center in North Mankato last summer. But Hannah's family has many questions about how those caring for Hannah handled what happened that day.

WCCO's I-TEAM found not everyone working at the day care that day knew or had been trained in CPR. That sparked Hannah's Bill, which is now making its way through the state legislature.

Right now, under Minnesota law, only one person inside a child care center has to be trained in CPR. Hannah's Bill would make sure all teachers and assistant teachers in child care centers complete CPR training.

The bill would bring a big change for day care providers but right now there's no opposition for the bill. And her family thinks Hannah's law might actually save someone else.

Seven months after Hannah's death, there are still no good answers.

And the Minnesota State Capitol is the last place Hannah's parents want to be. Amid tears, Jenni Kozitza is supporting a bill requiring all day care workers get CPR training.

"So that this doesn't happen to another family. So that another family doesn't have to go through the same pain that we're going through every day," she said.

The I-TEAM discovered Hannah's day care workers didn't realize right away she was choking. Once they did, there was no proof they had proper CPR training. And before calling 911, they called Hannah's parents.

"The first thing you do is you yell out 'Somebody call 911!' That's the first thing you do," said Sen. Dan Hall, R-Burnsville, one of the authors of the bill.

Currently, day care centers like Hannah's in North Mankato are required to have only one CPR trained staffer present, no matter how many children. This bill changes that and also requires one CPR staffer present on field trips.

"None of it makes sense but you can't undo what happened. And we have to move forward," said Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville.

Carrying Hannah's portrait at the Capitol, her family is pushing for quick passage of Hannah's law. They're hoping it makes a difference for someone else.

"All I know is that I do not want anybody to have to go through what we are going through," said her grandfather Ron Edlund.

Soon after it was introduced, a Minnesota House committee passed the bill unanimously. It will also move quickly through the Senate.

In fact, Holberg said she expects it to become law within a couple of weeks.

Click on the links below to see Liz Collin's I-TEAM stories on Hannah Kozitza.
I-TEAM Investigates CPR In MN Day Care Centers
New Law: CPR Training For All Day Care Workers

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