U.S. REP. AL LAWSON AND U.S. REP. BILL POSEY RE-INTRODUCE THE ACCESS TO AEDS ACT IN MEMORY OF RAFE MACCARONE

Press Release

U.S. Rep. Al Lawson (FL-05) and U.S. Rep. Bill Posey (FL-08) re-introduced their bi-partisan Access to AEDs Act in Memory of Rafe Maccarone and in honor of American Heart Month. This bill would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to elementary and secondary schools partnered with a non-profit health care organization to develop and implement a comprehensive program to promote students access to automated external defibrillation (AED) and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in their school. The grant can also be used to assist schools that seek to develop a heart screening program and a Cardiac Emergency Action Plan within their athletic department.

"Often families learn far too late that their loved ones were living with a heart condition," Rep. Lawson said. "Sudden cardiac arrest does not discriminate against age or athletes, and it is my intent to bring preventive measures to our schools and promote a public awareness about this unfortunate cause of death."

Additionally, the grant will establish a national clearinghouse that gathers information into a central location regarding sudden cardiac arrest in the pediatric population to expand research and a national clearinghouse database for the reporting of AED devices and their associated cost currently in schools.

According to the American Heart Association, sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in young athletes, with student athletes being twice as likely to experience the condition than non-athletes. The likelihood of a victim surviving a sudden cardiac arrest decreases 7-10% each minute that passes without treatment. However, 5 out of 10 victims could survive if bystanders had given CPR or used AEDs immediately.

In 2007, Maccarone, a sophomore at Florida's Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School, went into sudden cardiac arrest during a routine warm-up before soccer practice. The next day, he passed away from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

"The Maccarone family would like to thank Rep. Lawson for sponsoring this bill," said Ralph Maccarone, Rafe's father. "The importance of access to AED's is paramount in saving students' lives. To save one life will mean that Rafe's life was not in vain. The non-profit Who We Play For has worked tirelessly to save lives in honor of Rafe Maccarone."

The Access to AEDs Act original cosponsors are U.S. Representatives Bill Posey (FL-08), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-03), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Jim Costa (CA-16), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Ted Deutch (FL-22), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), C. A. Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-02), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-01) and Tony Cárdenas (CA-29).

This legislation has been endorsed by Who We Play For, Parent Heart Watch, Simon's Heart, Heart of the Game, Eric Paredes Save A Life Foundation, National Alliance for Youth Sport, and Youth Sports Safety Alliance/National Athletic Trainer's Association.

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