AED public access legislation
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
Senate version of the "Cardiac Arrest Survival Act" is introduced June 19 by Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.). The bill (S 2196) would amend the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institutes of Health to develop model state legislation designed to ensure: "access to emergency medical services through consideration of a requirement for public placement of lifesaving equipment," including automated external defibrillators; "good Samaritan immunity for cardiac arrest care providers"; and the "coordination of a national database for reporting and collecting information relating to the incidence of cardiac arrest." A companion bill (HR 1679) was introduced in the House in May 1997 by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) ("The Gray Sheet" April 21, 1997, p. 4). No action has been taken on the House bill...