State Sen. Susan Deschambault
Many of us are not aware of the ways simple tools can be life-saving until we are met with moments of desperation. A situation like this happened to a constituent of mine, whose spouse passed away from a cardiac arrest because there was no AED (automated external defibrillator) in the pharmacy he was shopping at, and by the time the ambulance came, it was too late.
I shudder thinking about such a saddening experience. No one should have to go through that. Fortunately, I think this problem can be easily solved, and the title of the bill I’m sponsoring indicates just that.
“An Act To Provide Ready Access to Defibrillators in Businesses and Public Facilities,” would mandate that AEDs be installed in businesses, including pharmacies, in the state of Maine. AEDs are transportable electronic devices that people with no medical background can use to diagnose cardiac conditions and treat them through defibrillation (a controlled electric shock) to restore to a normal heart rhythm.
One of the purposes of the AED is its accessibility — meaning that you do not need to have any training to use it properly.
When using an AED, the machine walks you through what you need to do with verbal prompts. Essentially, you attach pads to the patient’s body and press a button on the AED.
It recognizes a heart rhythm and determines if it should provide an electric stimulation to the heart, so it can reset and can operate on its own. The machine will tell you if you need to use CPR and or deliver a second shock.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 70 to 90 percent of people experiencing cardiac arrests outside of the hospital do not survive. While that may seem like an incredibly high number, the use of an AED on a person experiencing a cardiac arrest increases their chance of survival by two or three times compared with people who are not near an AED.
Public access defibrillation programs make a huge difference by significantly increasing the chance of a better outcome for the patient.
Sudden cardiac death is the largest cause of natural death in the U.S. and results in about 325,000 adult deaths in the U.S. each year, according to statistics from the Cleveland Clinic. Demographically, it affects older people more, and affects men twice as much as women.
As of 2010, all 50 states and Washington, D.C., have some sort of legislation regarding AEDs, whether related to where and how many AEDs need to be available or limit the civil liability of a bystander who uses the AED on someone.
Almost 20 years ago, the Maine State Legislature passed a bill to increase the usage and availability of AEDs. My bill would take Maine’s AED legislation one step further, by increasing what places and locations are required to have AED access.
We already have AEDs available at schools, gyms, at the State House and other places of business. Some businesses have chosen to have AEDs out of their own volition. But we should guarantee that everyone has access to this simple, life-saving device at any place of business.
Dying from cardiac arrests is a public health concern for Mainers, and we should do everything we can to prevent it.
I believe that this bill will help us all feel safer, and hopefully, be there to save someone’s life.
— State Sen. Susan Deschambault, D-Biddeford, represents Senate District 32, which includes Alfred, Arundel, Biddeford, Dayton, Kennebunkport and Lyman.
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