SAN DIEGO, CA--Senator Ben Hueso today announced Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bill 287, the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Safety Act. This measure will now require buildings constructed after January 2017, with occupancy of 200 or more, to install automated external defibrillator (AEDs) onsite. AEDs are commonly used to diagnose life threatening cardiac arrest and treat through defibrillation, which allows the heart to resume to normal rhythm.
“Timing matters. For every minute following sudden cardiac arrest without defibrillation from an AED, an individual’s chance of survival decreases by 10 percent. The immediate use of an AED can drastically increase the survival rate by 70 percent,” stated Senator Ben Hueso. “I am thrilled the Governor signed this bill into law, which will make AEDs readily available, increasing survival rates across the state.” The governor also signed a bill requiring many large buildings built after 2016 to have an automated external defibrillator on the premises to help save lives
The bill applies to new buildings with capacities of 200 persons or more, including businesses, factories, schools and apartment buildings. Assembly halls with a capacity greater than 300 must also meet the requirement.
An estimated 350,000 individuals in the United States will suffer this year from a sudden cardiac arrest. 52,500 of these individuals will die from sudden cardiac arrest at the workplace, public parks, commercial buildings, streets or highways or transportation centers. According to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation, the number of people who die from sudden cardiac arrest is equivalent to the number of people who die from Alzheimers’ disease, assault with firearms, breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, diabetes, HIV, house fires, motor vehicle accidents, prostate cancer and suicides combined.
"We were very happy to support this legislation," said Mary Newman, President of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. "This could become a model for the nation."
SB 287 has been modeled after a 2008 San Diego city ordinance championed by former San Diego City Councilmember Jim Madaffer. Currently, the State of California only requires AED devices to be in health fitness centers.