Republished with permission from Wyoming News Now, a TV news outlet covering the Cheyenne and Casper areas.
The Wyoming House voted to introduce a bill that aims to require schools to have plans in case of cardiac emergencies.
Rep. Andrew Byron (R-Jackson) said, "This is a great opportunity to support [a] health and human safety bill that benefits our youth and anyone else that's using a public school or charter school."
House Bill 115, Cardiac events in schools-planning and training, does two things, according to Byron, the bill’s sponsor. One, it would establish cardiac chains of survival, which is a six step process that is said to significantly increase survival rates from cardiac arrests, and two, bring accessible automated external defibrillators (AED) and related training to school buildings across the state.
The bill stipulates each AED must be identified with clear signage and be in an unlocked location on school property “that is able to be placed on a victim in not more than three (3) minutes.” It would also require schools to develop athletic cardiac emergency response plans, including having AEDs available at school sponsored athletic events.
Byron said AEDs were once very expensive but that is not the case now, adding being able to give a cardiac arrest victim the chance to make it to higher care by making AEDs and CPR available before, during and after school is important.
"It's a shock, a little rhythm, gives us an opportunity to save a life,” he said. “To have that in our schools, I think, is a real no brainer. I'm going to try my best to articulate to my colleagues that it's great for the people, it's great for our constituents, it's great for the state.”
Wyoming News Now spoke to the American Red Cross, one of many organizations present in support of this bill. Executive Director Janet Lewis said the care Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin received after suffering cardiac arrest on the football field in 2023 is what all students should have access to if need be.
“They were trained,” Lewis said. “They had a AEDs. They are professional athletes and professional trainers, and we really feel that our children deserve the same."
With a vote of 59 "ayes" and nine "nays," the bill passed introduction and is awaiting further debate and public comment in the House Education Committee.
According to the fiscal note associated with the bill, this contains an appropriation of $50,000 from the Public School Foundation Program Account to the Department of Education - School Finance. The Department of Education would use the appropriation to reimburse school districts for the actual cost of creating and implementing their plans. The Department of Education estimates $25,000 per year would be expended in the form of reimbursements to school districts through fiscal year 2029.
