HARRISBURG, PA--Senator Andrew Dinniman (D-19th District) is leading the charge to ensure that all public schools in Pennsylvania have automated external defibrillators (AEDs). He has sponsored Senate Bill 606, "Aidan's Law," named for Aidan Silva, a seven-year-old Chester County resident who succumbed to sudden cardiac arrest on September 4, 2010. Aidan had no symptoms of a heart condition prior to his death.
Aidan's Law will help ensure that every public school in Pennsylvania has an AED that is up to date and ready to use. It passed unanimously out of the Senate Education committee and now awaits passage in Senate Appropriations before going to the full Senate, and ultimately to the House, for consideration.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest Legislative Action Day is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1 in the Main Rotunda at the state capitol in Harrisburg. People concerned about saving lives in schools should plan to attend the event, which begins at 11:30 am.
Some public schools in Pennsylvania already have AEDs thanks to Act 4 of 2001, a one-time AED program that placed nearly 2,000 AEDs in public and private schools. However, warranties on devices from this time period ended approximately seven years ago and manufacturers recently announced they will stop making replacement parts in 2014. Dinniman's bill would ensure such dated machines are replaced and that all public schools have AEDs that are fully charged and property maintained.
Similar to Act 4 of 2001, the bill would have the Department of General Services seek bids to purchase the number of AEDs needed to ensure one for every public instructional school building in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Education would then assist public school entities in acquiring AEDs at a subsidized price. To help the schools with the purchase of AEDs, the bill would appropriate $3 million in funding from the Tobacco Settlement Fund.