New legislation could require all Pa. schools to have AEDs and emergency response teams
The legislation would require every school building to have a working AED, staff to have an emergency plan, and athletic coaches to be CPR certified.
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On Labor Day weekend 2010, 7-year-old Aidan Joseph Silva’s heart stopped beating at home.
Aidan’s family didn’t have access to equipment that could have saved his life, specifically an automated external defibrillator, or AED. His mother, Christy Marshall-Silva, now advocates to place AEDs in schools and other public places.
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Two newly introduced bills in the Pennsylvania legislature aim to advance the Downingtown mother’s mission to save lives by expanding access to AEDs in Pennsylvania schools and promoting CPR training for staff, including athletic coaches.
Although her son wasn’t at school when he suffered a cardiac arrest, Marshall-Silva hopes to spare other parents the agony of a missed opportunity to save a child’s life.
“I’m sorry, you didn’t have an AED? I’m sorry, the coaches weren’t trained? They didn’t know what to do? That’s unacceptable,” Marshall-Silva said at a news conference at a Chester County middle school Thursday.
State Sen. Kate Muth, a Democrat from Montgomery County who introduced the bills, said that when Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed midgame in January, viewers all over the country saw that an emergency action plan, trained staff, and proper equipment can save lives.
“It’s so critical that our children are surrounded by individuals who are prepared to act and to save a life,” Muth said.
When children die of sudden cardiac arrest
More than 2,000 children die each year of a sudden cardiac arrest in the United States, according to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Two-thirds of these deaths occur when a child is playing a sport or engaged in physical activity.
The bills, Senate Bill 512 and Senate Bill 513, would require that schools and other places where school activities occur have at least one centrally located AED.
The legislation also requires that schools have emergency response teams and response plans for a sudden cardiac arrest. It would also require all coaches in after-school programs to be certified to perform CPR.
The bills would update existing legislation in Pennsylvania that requires schools to report whether they have an AED and its location to the state’s Department of Education.
Marshall-Silva, through her work with the Aidan’s Heart Foundation, brought the need for a more extensive requirement to Muth’s attention.
The cost of an AED varies but can run around $2,000 per unit, Muth’s office said. Other bills to expand access to AEDs and CPR training have also been introduced in the General Assembly this session.
Maycie Kulp, a junior at STEM Academy in the Downingtown Area School District, knew Aidan. Her older brother was about his age. In recent years, she became involved with Aidan’s Heart.
“Maybe if we make enough noise, produce enough change, and train enough people, somebody else will get the chance to grow up with their friends and family,” Kulp said.