[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1488 Referred in House (RFH)]
2d Session
S. 1488
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 27, 2000
Referred to the Committee on Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for recommendations
of the Secretary of Health and Human Services regarding the placement
of automatic external defibrillators in Federal buildings in order to
improve survival rates of individuals who experience cardiac arrest in
such buildings, and to establish protections from civil liability
arising from the emergency use of the devices.
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 of
1999''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Each year more than 250,000 adults suffer cardiac
arrest, usually away from a hospital. More than 95 percent of
them will die, in many cases because cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (``CPR''), defibrillation, and advanced life
support are provided too late to reverse the cardiac arrest.
These cardiac arrests occur primarily from occult underlying
heart disease and from drowning, allergic or sensitivity
reactions, or electrical shocks.
(2) Every minute that passes before returning the heart to
a normal rhythm after a cardiac arrest causes the chance of
survival to fall by 10 percent.
(3) In communities where strong public access to
defibrillation programs have been implemented, survival from
cardiac arrest has improved by as much as 20 percent.
(4) Survival from cardiac arrest requires successful early
implementation of a chain of events, known as the chain of
survival, which must be initiated as soon as the person
sustains a cardiac arrest and must continue until the person
arrives at the hospital.
(5) The chain of survival is the medical standard of care
for treatment of cardiac arrest.
(6) 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 that the patient promptly
enters the emergency medical services system. These steps
include--
(A) recognizing an emergency and activating the
emergency medical services system;
(B) beginning CPR; and
(C) using an automated external defibrillator
(``AED'') if one is available at the scene.
(7) The first persons at the scene of an arrest 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.
(8) The Federal Government should facilitate programs for
the placement of AEDs in public buildings, including provisions
regarding the training of personnel in CPR and AED use,
integration with the emergency medical services system, and
maintenance of the devices.
SEC. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS OF SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
REGARDING PLACEMENT OF AUTOMATIC EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS
IN BUILDINGS.
Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 238
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following section:
``recommendations regarding placement of automated external
defibrillators in buildings
``Sec. 247. (a) Recommendation for Federal Buildings.--
``(1) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 1999, the
Secretary shall assist in providing for an improvement in the
survival rates of individuals who experience cardiac arrest in
Federal buildings by publishing in the Federal Register for
public comment the recommendations of the Secretary with
respect to placing automatic external defibrillators in such
buildings. The Secretary shall in addition assist Federal
agencies in implementing programs for such placement.
``(2) Agency assessments.--Not later than 180 days after
the date on which the recommendations are published under
paragraph (1), the head of each Federal agency that occupies a
Federal building that meets the criteria described in
subsection (a)(1) shall submit to the Secretary an assessment
of the ability of each such agency to meet the goals described
in subsection (c).
``(b) Additional Recommendations.--The Secretary shall publish, as
part of the recommendations referred to in subsection (a),
recommendations with respect to the placement of automatic external
defibrillators in buildings and facilities, or other appropriate
venues, frequented by the public (other than the buildings referred to
in subsection (a)). Such recommendations shall only be for information
purposes for States and localities to consider in determining policy
regarding the use or placement of such defibrillators in recommended
buildings, facilities or venues.
``(c) Consideration of Certain Goals for Survival Rates.--In
carrying out this section, the Secretary shall consider the goals
established by national public-health organizations for improving the
survival rates of individuals who experience cardiac arrest in
nonhospital settings, including goals for minimizing the time elapsing
between the onset of cardiac arrest and the initial medical response.
``(d) Certain Procedures.--The matters addressed by the Secretary
in the recommendations under subsections (a) and (b) shall include the
following:
``(1) Procedures for implementing appropriate nationally
recognized training courses in performing cardiopulmonary
resuscitation and the use of automatic external defibrillators.
``(2) Procedures for proper maintenance and testing of such
devices, according to the guidelines of the manufacturer of the
devices.
``(3) Procedures for ensuring direct involvement of a
licensed medical professional and coordination with local
emergency medical services in the oversight of training and
notification of incidents of the use of the devices.
``(4) Procedures for ensuring notification of an agent of
the local emergency medical system dispatch center of the
location and type of device.
``(e) Certain Criteria.--In making recommendations under
subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary shall determine the following:
``(1) Criteria for selecting the public buildings,
facilities and other venues in which automatic external
defibrillators should be placed, taking into account--
``(A) the typical number of employees and visitors
in the buildings, facilities or venues;
``(B) the extent of the need for security measures
regarding the buildings, facilities or venues;
``(C) buildings, facilities or other venues, or
portions thereof, in which there are special
circumstances such as high electrical voltage or
extreme heat or cold; and
``(D) such other factors as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate.
``(2) Criteria regarding the maintenance of such devices
(consistent with the labeling for the devices).
``(3) Criteria for coordinating the use of the devices in
public buildings, facilities or other venues with providers of
emergency medical services for the geographic areas in which
the buildings, facilities or venues are located.''.
SEC. 4. IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY FOR EMERGENCY USE OF AUTOMATED
EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS.
Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by
section 3 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following
section:
``liability regarding emergency use of automated external
defibrillators
``Sec. 248. (a) Persons Using AEDs.--Any person who provides
emergency medical care through the use of an automated external
defibrillator is immune from civil liability for any personal injury or
wrongful death resulting from the provision of such care, except as
provided in subsection (c).
``(b) Other Persons Involved With AEDs; Special Rules for
Acquirers.--
``(1) In general.--With respect to a personal injury or
wrongful death to which subsection (a) applies, in addition to
the person who provided emergency medical care through the use
of the automated external defibrillator, the person described
in paragraph (2) is with respect to the device immune from
civil liability for the personal injury or wrongful death in
accordance with such paragraph, except as provided in
subsection (c).
``(2) Person described.--A person described in this
paragraph is the person who acquired the device for use at a
nonmedical facility (in this paragraph referred to as the
`acquirer'). Such person shall be immune from liability as
provided for in paragraph (1) if the following conditions are
met:
``(A) The condition that the acquirer notified
local emergency response personnel of the most recent
placement of the device within a reasonable period of
time after the device was placed.
``(B) The condition that, as of the date on which
the emergency occurred, the device had been maintained
and tested in accordance with the guidelines
established for the device by the manufacturer of the
device.
``(C) In any case in which the person who provided
the emergency medical care through the use of the
device was an employee or agent of the acquirer, and
the employee or agent was within the class of persons
the acquirer expected would use the device in the event
of a relevant emergency, the condition that the
employee or agent received reasonable instruction in
the use of such devices through a course approved by
the Secretary or by the chief public health officer of
any of the States.
``(c) Inapplicability of Immunity.--Immunity under subsections (a)
and (b) does not apply to a person if--
``(1) the person engaged in gross negligence or willful or
wanton misconduct in the circumstances described in such
subsections that apply to the person with respect to automated
external defibrillators; or
``(2) the person was a licensed or certified medical
professional who was using the automated external defibrillator
while acting within the scope of their license or
certification, and within the scope of their employment as a
medical professional.
``(d) Rules of Construction.--
``(1) In general.--The following applies with respect to
this section:
``(A) This section is not applicable in any State
that (before, on, or after the date of the enactment of
the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 1999) provides
through statute or regulations any degree of immunity
for any class of persons for civil liability for
personal injury or wrongful death arising from the
provision of emergency medical care through the use of
an automated external defibrillator.
``(B) This section does not waive any protection
from liability for Federal officers or employees
under--
``(i) section 224; or
``(ii) sections 1346(b), 2672 and 2679 of
title 28, United States Code, or under
alternative benefits provided by the United
States where the availability of such benefits
precludes a remedy under section 1346(b) of
title 28.
``(C) This section does not require that an
automated external defibrillator be placed at any
building or other location.
``(2) Civil actions under federal law.--
``(A) In general.--The applicability of subsections
(a) through (c) includes applicability to any action
for civil liability described in subsection (a) that
arises under Federal law.
``(B) Federal areas adopting state law.--If a
geographic area is under Federal jurisdiction and is
located within a State but out of the jurisdiction of
the State, and if, pursuant to Federal law, the law of
the State applies in such area regarding matters for
which there is no applicable Federal law, then an
action for civil liability described in subsection (a)
that in such area arises under the law of the State is
subject to subsections (a) through (c) in lieu of any
related State law that would apply in such area in the
absence of this subparagraph.''.
Passed the Senate November 19, 1999.
Attest:
GARY SISCO,
Secretary.