AED Legislation

Public AED Legislation Update

December 2009: Starting January 1, 2010, Oregon Senate Bill 556 mandates the purchase of the defibrillators by “any place of public assembly with a facility of 50,000 square feet or more and with at least 25 individuals present on a normal business day."  

Dental AED Legislation Update

May 2009: The Illinois Legislature recently passed HB921 and upon review, the Governor signed this bill into law. HB921 requires the placement of an AED in most dental practices along with the adoption of emergency response plans and the training of staff on the use of an AED and CPR.

Stanley F. Malamed, DDS, Professor of Anesthesia and Medicine at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry, has said, "An Automated External Defibrillator (AED) is considered an absolutely essential part of emergency preparedness as early defibrillation is THE most important intervention in successful resuscitation from cardiac arrest."¹ 

Nursing Home AED Legislation Update

Texas Implements AED Legislation

September, 2009 - Texas House Bill 392, which requires the placement of an Automated External Defibrillation (AED) in all nursing homes and related institutions, goes into effect on September 1, 2009.

In 2008, Texas nursing homes served more than 56,000 Texans, some of whom are among the most vulnerable and medically fragile citizens of the state. However, as of 2002, only 4 percent of nursing homes had an AED in their facility. On average among this population, the survival rate of cardiac arrest outside of a hospital without the use of an AED or CPR is about 6 percent.

School AED Legislation Update

Kentucky Adopts AED Legislation

Kentucky House Bill 383 (Kentucky HB 383) is a recently adopted piece of AED legislation that states “The Kentucky High School Athletics Association, with assistance from the Kentucky Department of Education, shall staff and coordinate a study of sports safety to be completed no later than October 1, 2009”. This study will include a review of several key items/programs aimed at increasing the safety of student athletes, spectators and coaches. It will look into mandating the placement of AEDs at sporting events, training both students and coaches in CPR and the use of an AED, and creating comprehensive emergency response training programs.

In recent years, an increasing number of state legislatures, regulators, and rule-making bodies have begun to call for–and often require–the installation of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) on the premises of every school facility.

Congress Acts on AEDs

In May 2002, Congress incorporated the Community Access to Emergency Devices Act (Community AED Act) into H.R. 3448 (sections 159, 312 and 313) of the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Response Act. l.

The bill also encourages private companies to purchase AEDs and to train employees in CPR and emergency defibrillation. The President signed the bill on June 12, 2002 as Public Law 107-188.

National Conference of State Legislatures
State Laws on Heart Attacks & Defibrillators: Encouraging community
access and use. 

National Center for Early Defibrillation 
http://www.early-defib.org/