NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Medical emergencies can happen at any moment and parents never want to get a phone call that something happened to their children at school.
A new bill could increase access to emergency treatment in Tennessee schools.
It's already law that Tennessee public schools need to have AEDs, but this bill takes it a step further by making sure they're ready to help student athletes. Research from the American Heart Association shows if an AED is "within three minutes" of an athletic facility, it raises the chances of saving a child's life.
In a recent committee hearing, Rep. William Slater mentions he had a family friend who has a son who suffered a cardiac event at a school in Sumner County and his life was saved because there was an AED nearby.
This proposal would also require schools to come up with protocol for responding to serious injuries in student athletes. Lawmakers say over the past few years there have been an alarming number of children and teenagers collapsing during sporting events and more often than not it ends tragically.
"Between 2021 and 2022, more than 1,650 professional amateur athletes collapsed due to cardiac events with 1,148 of these incidents ending in their deaths. This is a real thing," said Rep. Scott Cepicky, (R) Culleoka.
AEDs would also be accessible during the day for students who are not student athletes and may need the medical equipment. The bill is being heard by the Education Administration Committee today.
This would take effect in July of this year if it passes.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
