AEDs Will Be Present At Every School Athletic Activity If Bill Passes

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By Xain Ballenger,

On Jan. 2, the Cincinnati Bengals faced off against the Buffalo Bills in Cincinnati. The game was going as expected until safety Damar Hamlin made what looked like a routine tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. 

Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger.

Following the hit, Hamlin stood up but then collapsed on the field. He had gone into cardiac arrest and had to receive CPR. When his heartbeat was restored, Hamlin was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. After more than nine days in two hospitals, Hamlin was finally discharged.

According to a report from the University of Kansas Health System, sudden cardiac death is the leading cause of death for young athletes. The report says this results in about one death of a high-school student every three days.

Senate Bill 369 is authored by Sen. Linda Rogers, R-Granger, Sen. Stacey Donato, R-Logansport, and Sen. Greg Walker, R- Columbus, and would ensure that an automated external defibrillator, AED, is present at every school athletic activity.  It also would require schools to adopt a site-specific plan of action in the case of sudden cardiac arrest that must be shared at the start of the season with all involved. 

If there’s more than one activity in close proximity to each other, then the legislation would allow schools to utilize just one AED. 

“We have to be proactive,” Rogers said. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when it will happen.” The bill passed unanimously 49-0.

This wasn’t the only bill sparking discussion. Senate Bill 292, by Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, Rogers, and Sen. Eric Koch, R-Bedford, would require the board of trustees of the Indiana Public Retirement System to make investment decisions with the primary purpose of maximizing the target rate of return.  

The bill would prohibit the board from making an investment decision with the purpose of influencing any social or environmental policy or attempting to influence the governance of any corporation for non-pecuniary purposes. 

It would also require the board to adopt a policy that ensures proxy voting and engagement is based primarily on maximizing the target rate of return on the board’s investments and provide certain guidelines and requirements for proxy voting in relation to the administration of public pension and retirement funds.

The bill is eligible for a final vote in the Senate next week.

 

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