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Minutes for HB2494 - Committee on Education
Short Title
Substitute for HB 2494 by Committee on Education - Establishing policy requirements for cardiac emergency response plans for school districts and providing a grant program for the implementation of such policy.
Minutes Content for Mon, Mar 18, 2024
Chair Baumgardner opened the meeting with a Point of Personal Privilege by Senator Erickson. She introduced two Pages, Jacelyn Bowers and J.C. Cowel of Mulvane. The Chair asked two ladies in the audience with crowns on to introduce themselves and tell why they were here. Sierra Marie Bond is Miss Dodge City and Courtney Price Duke is Miss Emerald City. Both are with the Miss Kansas organization and Miss America opportunity. They were attending the committee meeting in support of the cardiac event support plan bill.
Chair Baumgardner opened the hearing on HB2494 by asking the Revisor, Tamera Lawrence, Senior Assistant Revisor, The Office of the Revisor of Statutes. An overview was given. (Attachment 1)
Senator Kellie Warren, District 11, Kansas Senate, told of her neighbor's son who suddenly collapsed during baseball practice due to cardiac arrest. It took 13 minutes of CPR and an AED to save him. Because of this event, the neighbor started an advocacy group to teach CPR to others and has been working diligently to make sure Kansas kids and their loved ones, teachers and staff have the best opportunity to survive an unexpected cardiac emergency. (Attachment 2)
Lindsey Malloy Walton, Children's Mercy Hospital-Kansas City, is a Pediatric Electrophysiologist specializing in heart rhythm abnormalities at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City. Approximately 20 percent of a community, including students, teachers, staff, and family members, is present in our schools on any given day, makes schools play a vital role in the overall safety and well-being of our communities. Heart disease is now the leading cause of death in the United States. According to the American Heart Association, the average survival rate for out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest is 10.6 percent. Every minute of delayed defibrillation results in a ten percent decrease in survival rates. Swift and effective response measures, like cardiac emergency response plans, are essential for saving lives. (Attachment 3)
Kaitlyn Bennett, Nurse, Children's Mercy Hospital-Kansas City and Project ADAM Coordinator, said that on any given day, 20 percent of the US adult and child population can be found in schools working or learning. A focused effort on cardiac arrest preparedness in schools is critical to protect our children and others in the community. When a SCA occurs, every second counts. Survival rates decrease by 10 percent with each minute of delayed defibrillation and the national average for the time it takes emergency medical services (EMS) to arrive to the site of an emergency is 8-12 minutes. If CPR is not performed and an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) is not retrieved and used in those 8-12 minutes before emergency medical service arrives, the chance of survival is less than 10 percent!
Project ADAM is a national community outreach program that is dedicated to saving lives by empowering schools and communities to be prepared for a SCA. It is a free program that helps schools create a "Heart Safe" environment by having designated response teams and implementing CERPs. The program provides the tools, education, support, and resources needed to ensure their campus is prepared to provide an immediate response to someone suffering a cardiac emergency. Ensuring CERPS in place and the education to do so in our schools is imperative. (Attachment 4)
Lainey Faulkner, Director, Bureau of Health Promotion, supports this bill and urges the committee to pass it as the ultimate outcome of this bill is to save Kansans' lives. KDHE is poised to establish statewide standards for CER plans and to successfully administer the grant program designed to support schools in executing approved plans. KDHE will leverage existing infrastructure to support a simple, streamlined grant application process. Those applicant schools in rural areas and with least access to emergency medical services will be prioritized.(Attachment 5)
Kari Rinker, American Heart Association, reported that a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan (CERP) will establish the following to respond to a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA):
- Creation of a cardiac emergency response team
- Appropriate location and number of automated external defibrillators (AEDs)
- Training of appropriate school personnel in the use of AEDs
- Training of appropriate school personnel in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
To be effective, CERPs need to be coordinated, practiced, and evaluated. Although a school's primary mission is to educate, they have the responsibility to keep students safe and be prepared in case of emergencies, such as fires, tornados, and other potential mass-casualty events at school. (Attachment 6)
Courtney Price-Dukes, Miss Emerald City 2024, supports this bill. Student's parents expect schools to protect students. How can a school guarantee the students safety without proper plans and protocols in place? Last year, Rise Up for Youth staff got CPR certified by the American Red Cross, but that's four people out of the hundred faculty and staff members that serve these students forty plus hours a week to know one of my classmates could lose their life in a scenario that you have the power to prevent is unacceptable. (Attachment 7)
Bill Delfs, Father of deceased student Alias, told of adopting two seven year old brothers out of foster care. One son, Rocky, met with the cross-country coach and was told that while the team had already begun practice sessions, he would need a physical before joining the team. That afternoon, Rocky ran the track while his twin brother Alias, worked in the school lab. Rocky collapsed on the track as he suffered cardiac arrest from an inherited heart condition that can result in dangerous irregular heartbeats and can lead to cardiac arrest. The American Heart Association is advocating for Cardiac emergency Response Plans in schools across Kansas for thousands of students. (Attachment 8)
Alias Delfs, brother to Cruz Delfs, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that, in 2010, one in 250 to one in 59 children and teens were living with a congenital heart defect. Twenty three thousand children in the United States experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year. In schools with AED's, 70% of children survive cardiac arrest. That's seven times the overall survival rate for children. The American Heart Association is working to turn bystanders into lifesavers so that in the time of cardiac emergency, anyone anywhere is prepared and empowered to become a vital like in the chain of survival and provide CPR. (Attachment 9)
Amanda Herrman, mother of Reagan Herrman who was playing basketball in the Sunflower State Games when she came out of the game and said she needed to catch her breath. After sitting down, she fell to the floor and was unresponsive and turning blue. Several heroic people leaped into action beginning CPR and running to get an AED. After a terrifying four minutes, she began to breathing. USD 253 responded to Reagan's event by implementing training for school personnel and coaches, adding 14 new AED's in the buildings and 120 signs to help identify and locate the nearest AED equipment. They also run crisis drills that include local emergency medical services. Project ADAM is working in close connection with the school district to make sure it is following all the procedures to become a Heart Safe school district. (Attachment 10)
Leah Fliter, Assistant Executive Director for Advocacy, Kansas Association of School Boards, supports this bill as it will keep students, staff, and patrons safe and healthy. (Attachment 11)
Jim Karleskint, United School Administrators, stated that when this bill was heard in the House Education Committee, United School Administrators (USA) were neutral. This was due to concern over an unfunded mandate and a geat deal of concern over how the bill would be supported by various agencies within state government and implementation of the requirements listed in the bill. There has been a great deal of work by several individuals and groups and for that reason, USA can support the legislation. In January, 2024, USA sent out a survey to schools seeking answers to:
- Does the district currently have AED machines in the buildings and how many?
- Does the district have trained staf in CPR
- Does the district have an Emergency Response Plan in place?
The response from school districts was approximately 50% of all school districts responding had at least one AED machine in their district. Over 75% reported having multiple machines in their district (at least one in every building, many districts have multiple machines in each building depending on size). (Attachment 12)
Timothy R, Graham, Director of Government Relations & Legislative Affairs, Kansas National Education Association, supports this bill because KNEA believes school districts should provide a safe and health working environment for educators and safe and healthy learning environment for students. KNEA appreciates the provision in the bill that provides grant funding for the purchase of AED devices and supports the concept of a cardiac emergency response plan may be partially implemented as funds are available and as deemed necessary by the board of education. Educators cite the safety and well-being of their students as one of the most important responsibilities that they have.(Attachment 13)
Discussion followed.
Proponent written only testimony was submitted by:
Hayley Suzanne Graue Hancock, MD, Kansas Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics Board Member (Attachment 14)
David A, Adams, President, Kansas EMS Association (Attachment 15)
Ashley Dwight, mother of a son with heart defect, (Attachment 16)
Dr. Deena Horst and Ann Mah, Liaisons, Kansas State Board of Education (Attachment 17)
The Chair closed the hearing on HB2494.
