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Contact: Joe O’Leary | Joe.OLeary@cga.ct.gov | 508-479-4969

PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE MOVES BILL BETTER PROTECTING NURSING HOME, ASSISTED LIVING RESIDENTS TO SENATE FLOOR

The Public Health Committee today voted to send legislation aimed to better protect residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities against potential cardiac impacts to the Senate floor.

Senate Bill 1190, “An Act Requiring Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities To Be Equipped With An Automated External Defibrillator,” would require facilities to carry an automated external defibrillator.

The facilities would need to provide AEDs in a central location of the facility by 2026, make the AED’s location known to residents and visitors, and ensure staff members are trained in its use.

The bill passed by a 31-1 tally, with State Representative Anne Dauphinais the lone vote against.

“Many nursing homes have been forthcoming that they already have AEDs installed in their facilities, but the realization that we could have them in every nursing home is a significant one,” said State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor), Senate Chair of the Public Health Committee. “AEDs save lives and this legislation seeks to further their use successfully in locations where cardiac events are often seen.”

“Having AEDs in place in nursing homes, comparing the outcomes from AEDs to CPR, is a no-brainer,” said State Representative Henry Genga (D-East Hartford), a co-sponsor of the bill, during the public hearing.

Automatic external defibrillators, often shortened to AEDs, are used in emergency cardiac situations to restore normal heart rhythms. According to the American Heart Association, these pieces of equipment play significant roles in helping individuals experiencing cardiac arrest, especially in public locations. The AHA reported that 90% of cardiac arrest victims who receive a shock from an AED in the first minute of having issues survive, which is key; an individual’s chances of surviving during a cardiac event while waiting for medical services declines by 10% each minute.

National Institutes of Health reporting backs that up – a study of nearly 50,000 cardiac arrests found that 67% of individuals who received aid from an AED survived, while only 43% who waited for emergency medical services survived. AED administration early also contributed to a significant improvement in reduced disability after these events, with minimal disability in 57% of AED patients but just 33% for EMS patients.

About 1,700 lives are saved in the United States every year by AEDs, the NIH found.

Currently, seven states have requirements regarding AEDs in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, including Alabama, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas.

AEDs are currently required to be in K-12 schools, higher education institutions’ athletic departments, public golf courses, dialysis units, surgical facilities and emergency vehicles. In 2021, Senate Democrats led passage of legislation requiring AEDs to be installed in gyms and health clubs around the state.