Automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, could be installed in nearly every school or sports and entertainment venue in Ohio under a proposal that cleared the Republican-dominated House on Wednesday with overwhelming bipartisan support.
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, could be installed in nearly every school or sports and entertainment venue in Ohio under a proposal that cleared the Republican-dominated House on Wednesday with overwhelming bipartisan support.
The legislation, prompted by the sudden cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin in January on the field during a football game in Cincinnati, would require that all public schools, municipally-owned sports and recreation facilities such as gyms and pools, and some private schools have on-site AEDs.
It passed the chamber on an 84-6 vote.
Current Ohio law allows school districts to require AEDs on site, but it’s an elective option that’s left to individual districts.
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Under the bill, employees will be required to undergo special training on how to use AEDs and recognize signs of cardiac arrest. Educational sessions for students on sudden cardiac arrest will also be required before the start of any sports season.
The measure also calls for the Ohio Department of Health to develop a model emergency action plan for schools, facilities, and sports organizations to adopt in the use of AEDs.
Hamlin went into cardiac arrest, collapsed and had to be resuscitated on the field after making what appeared to be a routine tackle during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals that was being broadcast to a national prime-time audience on Jan. 2nd.
Over two dozen supporters showed up to testify on the bill in committee proceedings, including medical groups, emergency responders, and individuals whose lives were saved by having access to an AED during a heart episode. All supported the potential new requirement to save lives that may otherwise end too soon.
The proposal now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Samantha Hendrickson is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
