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Home > Media > EdConnection > Oct. 29, 2024 > Model AED Emergency Action Plan now available for schools and sports venues

Model AED Emergency Action Plan now available for schools and sports venues

10/29/2024

Preparing staff at Ohio schools and sports venues for cardiac emergencies

Last Thursday, under the direction of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) released its Model Emergency Action Plan for the Use of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). The plan may be used by Ohio schools and municipal sports and recreation locations to ensure staff are trained and ready to respond if a student, young athlete, or any other individual experiences a cardiac emergency.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year in the United States. An estimated 70-90% of those people die before reaching the hospital. However, the American Heart Association reports that nine out of 10 cardiac arrest victims will live if they receive a shock from an AED in the first minute after an incident.

ODH’s Model Emergency Action Plan provides an easy-to-follow, step-by-step protocol for Ohioans who may not have medical training to follow when faced with a sudden cardiac arrest event. The protocol was developed with the help of medical experts. ODH’s model requires this plan to be practiced at least quarterly.

ODH’s creation of this action plan satisfies one of the requirements of House Bill 47, which was signed by Governor DeWine in July 2024 during an event at Worthington Kilbourne High School – where a student-athlete’s life was saved by an AED last year. Also in attendance at the bill-signing ceremony were representatives from the NFL and several other organizations that make up the Smart Heart Sports Coalition.

The new law, which officially took effect Oct. 24:

  • Requires AEDs to be placed in every public and chartered nonpublic school and all municipal sports and recreation locations, except in townships and villages with populations of fewer than 5,000.
  • Requires these venues to adopt an emergency action plan (such as ODH’s Model AED Emergency Action Plan).
  • Requires schools to specifically ensure the training of teachers, administrators, coaches, athletic trainers, and anyone else supervising student-athletes on how and when to use AEDs.
  • Requires schools and youth sports organizations to hold informational meetings each sports season regarding the symptoms and warning signs of sudden cardiac arrest for young athletes.
To learn more about cardiac emergencies or to view the action plan, visit the ODH’s Sudden Cardiac Arrest webpage.