PaperTexture - Support House Bill 6523: Access to AEDs Act

Support House Bill 6523: Access to AEDs Act

  • Please read the letter below and complete the form above to support House Bill 6523: Access to AEDs Act. This bill will authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to a local educational agency or private elementary or secondary school, partnered with a public or nonprofit private health care entity, to develop and implement a comprehensive program to promote student access to defibrillation in elementary schools and secondary schools.

    Your support will help our efforts to advance this bill through Congress

    View the bill text here.

Support Letter for HB6523
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Roughly 394,000 Americans die every year from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA). SCA is a life-threatening emergency that is caused by a malfunction in the heart’s electrical system or structure, which can be caused by an abnormality from birth or one that develops over time. Studies show that 1 in 300 youth has an undetected heart condition that puts them at risk, which is what contributes to SCA being the leading cause of death on school campus. Studies show as many as 23,000 young people are stricken each year.  The likelihood of a victim surviving a sudden cardiac arrest decreases by 10% each minute that passes without emergency intervention. If bystanders immediately perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or use an automated external defibrillator (AED), five in ten victims could survive.

Sadly, schools often lack resources to comprehensively prepare their community to respond to a cardiac emergency.
That’s why we support this bipartisan bill to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to elementary and secondary schools partnered with a nonprofit health care organization to develop and implement a comprehensive program to promote students’ access to defibrillation in their schools. These funds can be used to:

(1) develop and provide comprehensive materials to establish AED and CPR programs in such schools;
(2) provide support for CPR and AED training programs in such schools for students, staff, and related sports volunteers;
(3) provide support for developing a cardiac emergency action plan within such schools;
(4) purchase AEDs that have been approved, or cleared for marketing, by the Food and Drug Administration;
(5) purchase necessary AED batteries and performing necessary AED maintenance according to AED manufacturers;
(6) replace old and outdated AED and CPR equipment, machinery, and educational materials.

Of all the tragedies that befall our youth, SCA is one we have the power to prevent right now. HB6523 can equip our schools with life-saving devices and protocol that will save lives.