New Ohio law requires AEDs in schools and municipally owned sports venues

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A new Ohio law requires automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs, to be placed in every public school and chartered nonpublic schools in the state. 

Gov. Mike DeWine recently signed House Bill 47, sponsored by Rep. Adam Bird (R-New Richmond) and Rep. Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester). Ohio law previously urged schools to have AEDs but did not require them. 

“People's lives are going to be saved because of it,” Brown said. “There's no question about that.”

Brown said he was inspired to sponsor the bill after he was contacted by a constituent, who traveled for her children’s soccer games, and noticed AEDs were not present at multiple schools. Under the new law, schools must also train teachers, administrators, coaches, athletic trainers, and anyone who supervises student-athletes on how and when to use an AED. 

Municipally-owned sports and recreation venues are also now required to have on-site AEDs. Schools and youth sports organizations must hold informational meetings each sports season regarding the symptoms and warning signs of cardiac arrest in athletes, and adopt an emergency action plan that is practiced quarterly. 

“It’s not only for the student-athletes, but also for people who are observing and watching any kind of sporting event because it can affect people of all ages, no matter how physically fit you may be,” Brown said.

More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of a hospital each year in the United States, with about 90% of those people dying before reaching a medical center, according to the American Heart Association. However, nine out of 10 cardiac arrest victims will live if they receive a shock from an AED in the first minute after an incident, the association states. 

“The evidence is clear: AEDs save lives,” DeWine said in a news release. “While we know that sudden cardiac arrest is the number one killer of student-athletes in America, we also know the vast majority who get immediate help from an AED survive. The difference these devices make is astounding. Having them on standby in our schools to safeguard our students is a must.”

House Bill 47 drew support from the NFL, with representatives attending the bill’s signing. In March 2023, the NFL, along with other sports organizations and health advocacy groups, announced the formation of the Smart Heart Sports Coalition. The group advocates for schools to have AEDs, emergency action plans, and AED training for coaches.

The formation of the group came after Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into sudden cardiac arrest in January 2023 on national television during a game against the Bengals in Cincinnati. He wrote a letter of support for the bill, which was read at the signing.

“I’ll always consider Ohio my second home, and I’m delighted that this new law makes the places around the state where young people learn, play, and compete safer, more resilient, and better prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency,” Hamlin said in his letter. “This is a big win for young people throughout Ohio."

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is going to develop a system for individuals to report schools that do not properly place AEDs in their facilities or fail to adopt an emergency action plan, according to DeWine.