Andrew Powell
The House PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee has unanimously advanced a measure that seeks to put an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in every school in Florida.
Clermont Rep. Taylor Yarkosky and Hialeah Rep. Alex Rizo presented the bill (HB 1607). Yarkosky detailed why both Republican lawmakers want the devices to be present on school campuses: because of the growing frequency of cardiac arrests that are taking place in schools.
“Sudden cardiac arrest is the No. 1 killer on school campuses in Florida,” Yarkosky said, before detailing some nationwide statistics.
“It equates to about four of our youth dying every day, which is about 1,380 schoolchildren every year. The current survival rate is about 9%. It could be as high as 90% because the majority of these deaths are preventable by quick responses and awareness. If these AEDs are deployed within three minutes of the event happening, 90% of the time, a life is saved, and they go on to live a normal life.”
Yarkosky noted that the risk of cardiac arrest affects all students and pointed out that the leading cause of death in student athletes is also cardiac arrest.
“This one I think is extremely important that we pay attention to here today, and I say it’s quite literally a ticking time bomb out there” Yarkosky said.
Yarkosky said that 1 in every 300 youth, or approximately 15,000 to 16,000 children in Florida, currently has an undiagnosed heart condition that will lead to an event more than likely in the future.
“I use this analogy all the time. If we had four students dying every day due to fires in schools, what do you think we would be doing as a body? We would shut down this state, we would be in Special Session, and we would be figuring out how we’re going to never have a fire in a school again,” Yarkosky said.
“Thankfully, I go back to 1958, and I can’t find a death from a fire. We put fire extinguishers, we have sprinkler systems, we have security with alarms, we have everything to prevent that.”
The bill would put an AED in every school in Florida, including charter schools. School staff would be required to participate in CPR and AED training, and a pulse saving plan will be created. The State Board of Education would also be given the ability to adopt and implement rules.
Yarkosky further thanked Fort Pierce Republican Rep. Dana Trabulsy for her leadership through the bill’s passage.
“Folks, I say that the time has come now. We’ve been working on this for a few years,” Yarkosky said. “I believe the stars and moons have aligned and with your vote here today, I wholeheartedly see us getting this done this year and the Governor signing this bill.”
Tiffany McCaskill Henderson from the American Heart Association supported the bill and said it would be able to save more lives than just students, but anyone who has a cardiac event while on school campus.
“The American Heart Association is in full support,” McCaskill Henderson said. “With this bill, I know we’re talking about the school environment, of course students first, also I’d like you to think about faculty, staff, all of the people that are in and out of schools, parents, grandparents — this will benefit them as well should they have a cardiac emergency on school campus.”
In closing, Rizo thanked the committee.
“This is going to save lives, not just children but adults,” Rizo said. “Every single person that steps foot onto a school campus in Florida will benefit from this.”
