State House Passes Bill from Doylestown Representative Requiring Schools to Have AEDs

DOYLESTOWN, PA—A bill from Doylestown’s State Representative that aims to protect students who have a heart attack at school or during a sporting event passed the House last week by a wide bipartisan vote.

State Rep. Tim Brennan sponsored House Bill 1685, which would require public schools to have automated external defibrillators, also known as AEDs, and train staff how to use the technology. The bill would require all public schools to have at least one defibrillator per building and to have one of the devices for each athletic activity.

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Schools would also be required to train and certify at least one staff member in using the defibrillator and CPR. Individuals with training could include a school nurse, athletic coach, marching band director, physical education teacher, athletic trainer or athletic training aide.

The bill would allow schools to accept donations to purchase defibrillators. It would also allow the state’s Department of Education to accept donated equipment and give it to schools.

The bill passed the House last Wednesday by a 157-45 vote. (A video of the bill being passed is on You Tube.)

In a statement issued after the bill passed, Brennan said he was in part motivated to sponsor the bill after watching Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffer a cardiac arrest on the football field. “It left a big impression on me that Damar was saved by a first responder using an AED in addition to CPR,” Brennan said. “I’ve since introduced this and another AED bill that would require them in state-owned buildings.”Studies show that quick access to a defibrillator can dramatically increase the odds that someone experiencing a heart attack will survive. Brennan’s office referred to a 2018 study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation that people who experience cardiac arrest in a public place have less than a 10% chance of surviving while awaiting an ambulance. The survival rate increases to up to 70% if a defibrillator is used before first responders arrive.

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