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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | January 4, 2023 08:51 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Katie J. Muth |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Updating AED and Emergency Preparedness Requirements to Protect Against Sudden Cardiac Arrest in Schools |
| In the near future I will be introducing legislation to require that all public school buildings in the Commonwealth have at least one active, working automated external defibrillator (AED) and require that each building has a trained emergency response team and action plan in place. My legislation will also require enhanced reporting about AED locations in school buildings and other important device information. Act 35 of 2014 requires school entities to report to the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) the number, condition, age, and placement of automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) in each school. After eight years, it has become apparent that there are many gaps in the data collection and reporting requirements. There are also no reporting requirements that assure that the AEDs in our schools are still within their useful life. Pennsylvania is one of the only states that does not mandate AEDs in all school buildings. For comparison, New Jersey’s Janet’s Law, enacted in 2014, requires every district/school to have an AED available in an unlocked location on school property that must be accessible during the school day, and any other time when a school-sponsored athletic event or team practice is taking place. Janet’s Law also requires every school to establish and implement an emergency action plan for responding to a sudden cardiac event. Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the number one cause of death among teen athletes on school property, claiming the lives of almost 9,000 young people every year. Only 5% of cardiac arrest victims survive, due in part to lack of availability of public access AEDs – however, when AEDs are available nearby and people know how to use them, chances of survival increase to 90%. Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, at any time, without symptoms or warning signs, which is why it is imperative our schools are prepared to act and to save a life. When we discuss school safety, we cannot ignore these dangers of sudden cardiac arrest for our students, particularly as we are seeing the impact of the COVID-19 virus on young hearts. After meeting with parents and advocates from Aidan’s Heart Foundation who have turned tragedy into a call for action, we created a pilot program in my Senate District 44 using American Rescue Plan Act funding to install 128 new AEDs in 128 school buildings in school districts across Chester County, Montgomery County and Berks County. The pilot program also prioritizes AED User Training and ensures each school building has a safety team leader who would be required to participate in an annual training/professional development regarding AED use and CPR. We can and we should replicate this program in communities across our Commonwealth. Please join me in cosponsoring this important legislation that will enhance school safety and ensure that our schools are equipped with life-saving AEDs. |
Introduced as SB512