Heart-saving bill for Florida students heads to the Governor

Last school year, then-senior Ansel Lantigua was at school, running in track practice, when his heart stopped. He survived thanks to the quick actions of his track coach, Lauren Palek, and assistant principal, Scott Hazlett, who both knew to call 911, start CPR, and use an AED.

Now, thanks to HB 1607, students, staff and visitors at every Florida school will have that same access to immediate care in a cardiac emergency. The legislation will ensure every public school in Florida has an automated external defibrillator (AED) on-site, and a cardiac emergency response plan in place with staff trained to act in a cardiac emergency.

“This legislation will save lives, and we are grateful to Senator Corey Simon and Representatives Taylor Yarkosky and Alex Rizo for championing it,” said Tiffany McCaskill Henderson, the American Heart Association’s Florida Government Relations Director. “Many Floridians with personal stories of surviving cardiac arrest advocated alongside us to educate legislators on the importance of this bill, and Florida’s legislators listened.”

More than 356,000 people experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital in the United States each year. Currently, 10% of those people will survive. Hands-Only CPR, if performed immediately, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival.

In schools with AEDs, approximately 70% of children survive cardiac arrest – that’s seven times the overall survival rate.

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Written by Nina Barbero, APR, Marketing & Communications Director, Palm Beach County & Treasure Coast