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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 9, 2022 12:00 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Rosemary M. Brown |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | AEDs at Athletic Events |
| In the near future I plan to introduce legislation, formerly House Bill 834 which I prime-sponsored in the House of Representatives, that will require a school entity or nonpublic school, to have an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) present at all interscholastic athletic events, including practices. This legislation will also require each school entity or nonpublic school to establish and implement a sudden cardiac event emergency action plan during an athletic activity. In youth athletes, oftentimes, sudden cardiac arrest is found to be due to an underlying undiagnosed cardiac abnormality. If the abnormality is found, it is common that competitive athletic events may be restricted to those young athletes as sports participation has been associated with an increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest. However, it is all too often the abnormality is missed therefore athletic precautions are not taken. AEDs are an effective emergency technology that we should have readily available at Pennsylvania school athletic activities to be prepared for an unfortunate cardiac arrest event. This initiative should be implemented and prioritized in a school district's athletic department budget. Currently our schools have the ability to implement these life-saving measures however unfortunately, they have not chosen to make this a priority. The goal of this legislation is to create a detailed emergency plan that can be utilized at a school sporting activity if a sudden cardiac arrest occurs. It also requires that an AED be present to reduce the potential for a fatal cardiac episode. NO AED, NO GAME, NO PRACTICE Also, please see the attached article, one of many showing how an AED can save a young life and the commonsense measure in Pennsylvania we should be implementing. AED and fast action credited for reviving 5th grade girl at Floyd Central basketball tournament | News | wdrb.com Please join me in cosponsoring this important and potentially life-saving legislation. If you have any questions regarding this legislation, please contact Christine Zubeck in my office at 717-787-6123 or czubeck@pasen.gov. Thank you for your consideration. |
Introduced as SB375