HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

89

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

REquesting the Department of education to develop public access DEFIBRILLATION programs in the schools.

 

 

WHEREAS, sudden cardiac arrest claims the lives of more than 250,000 Americans before they reach a hospital; and

WHEREAS, most cardiac arrests are due to arrhythmia or ventricle fibrillation, which are abnormal heart rhythms that can trigger the heart's electrical impulses to suddenly become chaotic, causing the heart to abruptly stop pumping; and

WHEREAS, defibrillation using automated external defibrillators (AED) is the only known therapy for ventricle fibrillation and is safe, effective, low maintenance, easy to use, and relatively inexpensive; and

WHEREAS, unless defibrillation can be performed within the first few minutes after the onset of ventricular fibrillation, the chances for resuscitating a person are very poor, drastically decreasing by ten percent for every minute that goes by without defibrillation; and

WHEREAS, it is important to have AEDs accessible in key public places, including schools, to help prevent some of the 60 deaths from sudden cardiac arrest occurring in those under the age of 18; and

WHEREAS, many lives can be saved by prompt use of AEDs in public places and schools; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, that this body requests the Department of Education (DOE) to implement a public access defibrillation program in the schools; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that AEDs be provided to every public school under the jurisdiction of DOE; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this public access defibrillation program train qualified AED users and cardiopulmonary resuscitation staff in every school; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education, the American Heart Association, and the American Red Cross.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Defibrillation Program