LANSING, Mich. — The state House passed a bill package that hopes to prevent deaths from cardiac arrest at schools.
Wes Leonard, a star athlete at Fennville High School, died after going into cardiac arrest during a basketball game in 2011. The school’s AED was not on a nearby wall but in a storage area with a dead battery.
The legislation consists of two bills. One of them mandates schools to adopt emergency response plans, offer training and have at least one AED on site. The other requires all coaches to be trained on how to use AEDs, in addition to being CPR certified.
Health experts say AEDs are essential, as a person’s best chance at surviving cardiac arrest occurs when action is taken within three minutes. Those survival chances drop 10% for every minute afterward.
The bills now head to the Senate for consideration.
READ MORE: State lawmakers introduce legislation requiring AEDs in all Michigan schools
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