[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4121 Introduced in House (IH)]
105th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4121
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment
at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of a program regarding
lifesaving interventions for individuals who experience cardiac arrest,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 23, 1998
Mr. Stearns (for himself, Mr. Gekas, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Waxman, Mr.
Frost, Mrs. Mink of Hawaii, Mr. Filner, Mr. Hilliard, Mr. McCollum,
Mrs. Kennelly of Connecticut, Mr. Clement, Mr. Shays, Mr. Faleomavaega,
Mr. Hastings of Florida, Ms. Carson, Mr. Wolf, Mr. Walsh, Mr. Boehlert,
Mrs. Linda Smith of Washington, Mr. Cook, and Mr. Delahunt) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the establishment
at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of a program regarding
lifesaving interventions for individuals who experience cardiac arrest,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Cardiac Arrest Survival Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Each year more than 350,000 adults suffer cardiac
arrest, usually away from a hospital. More than 95 percent of
them will die, in many cases, because lifesaving defibrillators
arrive on the scene too late, if at all.
(2) These cardiac arrest deaths occur primarily from occult
underlying heart disease and from drownings, allergic or
sensitivity reactions, or electrical shocks.
(3) Survival from cardiac arrest requires successful early
implementation of a chain of events, the chain of survival
which begins when the person sustains a cardiac arrest and
continues until the person arrives at the hospital.
(4) A successful chain of survival requires the first
person on the scene to take rapid and simple initial steps to
care for the patient and to assure the patient promptly enters
the emergency medical services system.
(5) The first persons on the scene when an arrest occurs
are typically lay persons who are friends or family of the
victim, fire services, public safety personnel, basic life
support emergency medical services providers, teachers,
coaches, and supervisors of sports or other extracurricular
activities, providers of day care, school bus drivers,
lifeguards, attendants at public gatherings, coworkers, and
other leaders within the community.
(6) A coordinated Federal response is necessary to ensure
that appropriate and timely lifesaving interventions are
provided to persons sustaining nontraumatic cardiac arrest. The
Federal response should include, but not be limited to--
(A) significantly expanded research concerning the
efficacy of various methods of providing immediate out-
of-hospital lifesaving interventions to the
nontraumatic cardiac arrest patient;
(B) the development of research-based, nationally
uniform, easily learned and well retained model core
educational content concerning the use of such
lifesaving interventions by health care professionals,
allied health personnel, emergency medical services
personnel, public safety personnel, and other persons
who are likely to arrive immediately at the scene of a
sudden cardiac arrest;
(C) an identification of the legal, political,
financial, and other barriers to implementing these
lifesaving interventions; and
(D) the development of model State legislation to
reduce identified barriers and to enhance each State's
response to this significant problem.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH MODEL PROGRAM ON THE FIRST LINKS
IN THE CHAIN OF SURVIVAL.
Section 421 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 285b-3) is
amended by adding at the end the following subsection:
``(c) Programs under subsection (a)(1)(E) (relating to emergency
medical services and preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, and
rehabilitative approaches) shall include programs for the following:
``(1) The development and dissemination, in coordination
with the emergency services guidelines promulgated under
section 402(a) of title 23, United States Code, by the
Associate Administrator for Traffic Safety Programs, Department
of Transportation, of a core content for a model State
training program applicable to cardiac arrest for inclusion in
appropriate current emergency medical services educational curricula
and training programs that address lifesaving interventions, including
cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation. In developing the
core content for such program, the Director of the Institute may rely
upon the content of similar curricula and training programs developed
by national nonprofit entities. The core content of such program--
``(A) may be used by health care professionals,
allied health personnel, emergency medical services
personnel, public safety personnel, and any other
persons who are likely to arrive immediately at the
scene of a sudden cardiac arrest (in this subsection
referred to as `cardiac arrest care providers') to
provide lifesaving interventions, including
cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation;
``(B) shall include age-specific criteria for the
use of particular techniques, which shall include
infants and children; and
``(C) shall be reevaluated as additional
interventions are shown to be effective.
``(2) The operation of a limited demonstration project to
provide training in such core content for cardiac arrest care
providers to validate the effectiveness of the training
program.
``(3) The definition and identification of cardiac arrest
care providers, by personal relationship, exposure to arrest or
trauma, occupation (including health professionals), or
otherwise, who could provide benefit to victims of out-of-
hospital arrest by comprehension of such core content.
``(4) The establishment of criteria for completion and
comprehension of such core content, including consideration of
inclusion in health and safety educational curricula.
``(5) The identification of equipment and supplies that
should be accessible to cardiac arrest care providers to permit
lifesaving interventions by preplacement of such equipment in
appropriate locations insofar as such activities are consistent
with the development of the core content and utilize
information derived from such studies by the National
Institutes of Health on investigation in cardiac resuscitation.
``(6) The development in accordance with this paragraph of
model State legislation (or Federal legislation applicable to
Federal territories, facilities, and employees). In developing
the model legislation, the Director of the Institute shall
cooperate with the Attorney General, and may consult with
nonprofit private organizations that are involved in the
drafting of model State legislation. The model legislation
should take into consideration the following:
``(A) The purpose of the model legislation shall be
to ensure--
``(i) access to emergency medical services
through consideration of a requirement for
public placement of lifesaving equipment; and
``(ii) good samaritan immunity for cardiac
arrest care providers; those involved with the
instruction of the training programs; and
owners and managers of property where equipment
is placed.
``(B) In the development of the model legislation,
there shall be consideration of requirements for
training in the core content and use of lifesaving
equipment for State licensure or credentialing of
health professionals or other occupations or employment
of other individuals who may be defined as cardiac
arrest care providers under paragraph (3).
``(7) The coordination of a national database for reporting
and collecting information relating to the incidence of cardiac
arrest, the circumstances surrounding such arrests, the rate of
survival, the effect of age, and whether interventions,
including cardiac arrest care provider interventions, or other
aspects of the chain of survival, improve the rate of survival.
The development of such database shall be coordinated with
other existing databases on emergency care that have been
developed under the authority of the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.''.
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