Senate Bill No. 203
(By Senators Walker, Craigo, Hunter, Prezioso,
Sharpe, Snyder, Wooton, McCabe, Ross, Sprouse and Ball)
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[Introduced January 25, 1999;
referred to the Committee on Health and Human Resources;
and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article four-d, relating
to automated external defibrillators; setting forth
legislative purposes and findings; defining terms;
establishing certain criteria for entities providing an
early defibrillation program; certain training for
designated operators within a defibrillation program;
involvement of physician in medical protocols of a
defibrillation program; notification of emergency medical
services system when an entity establishes an early
defibrillation program; activation of emergency medical
services system when an automated external defibrillator is
used by an operator; establishing authority for development of guidelines for coordination of early defibrillator
programs by the West Virginia office of emergency medical
services; and providing limitation of liability except for
gross misconduct for compliance with statutory provisions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter sixteen of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by
adding thereto a new article, designated article four-d, to read
as follows:
ARTICLE 4D. AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS.
§16-4D-1. Purpose and findings.
(a) The West Virginia Legislature hereby finds and declares
that each year more than two hundred fifty thousand Americans die
from out-of-hospital incidents of sudden cardiac arrest. More
than ninety-five percent of these incidents result in death, in
many cases because properly trained persons with life saving
automated external defibrillators arrive at the scene too late.
(b) The American heart association estimates that more than twenty thousand deaths could be prevented each year if early
defibrillation were more widely available.
(c) Many communities around the country have invested in 911
emergency notification systems and emergency medical services,
including well trained emergency personnel and ambulance
vehicles. However, in many communities, there are not a
sufficient number of strategically placed automated external
defibrillators and persons trained to properly operate them.
(d) It is, therefore, the intent of this Legislature to
improve the access to early defibrillation by encouraging the
establishment of automated external defibrillator programs in
careful coordination with the emergency medical services system.
§16-4D-2. Definitions.
(a) "Automated external defibrillator (AED)" means a medical
device heart monitor and defibrillator that has received approval
of its premarket notification filed pursuant to United States
Code, Title 21, Section 360(k), from the United States food and
drug administration; is capable of recognizing the presence or
absence of ventricular fibrillation and is capable of
determining, without intervention by the operator, whether
defibrillation should be performed; and upon determining that defibrillation should be performed, automatically charges and
requests delivery of an electrical impulse to an individual's
heart.
(b) "Early defibrillation program" means a coordinated
program which meets the requirements of section three of this
article, in order to provide early public access to
defibrillation for individuals experiencing sudden cardiac arrest
through the use of an automated external defibrillator.
(c) "Emergency medical services (EMS)" means all services
provided for by article four-c, chapter sixteen of this code, and
as set forth in Public Law 93-154, and those services inclusive
of, but not limited to, the emergency medical services plan of
the state department of health and human resources providing for
response to the medical needs of an individual to prevent the
loss of life or aggravation of illness or injury.
(d) "Entity" means a public or private group, organization,
business, association or agency which meets the requirements of
section three of this article, other than emergency medical
services operational programs or licensed commercial ambulance
services.
(e) "Medical director" means a duly licensed physician who serves as the designated medical coordinator for an entity's
early defibrillation program.
§16-4D-3. Early defibrillation programs.
An entity early defibrillation program shall:
(1) Register the program with the West Virginia office of
emergency medical services, identifying the placement of AEDs,
training of AED operators, preplanned EMS system coordination,
designation of a medical director, maintenance of AED equipment
and reports of AED utilization;
(2) Require the operator of an AED to receive appropriate
training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and in the
operation of an AED, from the American heart association, another
nationally recognized course in CPR and AED, or an AED and CPR
training program approved by the West Virginia office of
emergency medical services;
(3) Maintain and test the AED in accordance with the
manufacturer's guidelines, and keep written records of this
maintenance and testing;
(4) Designate a medical director for the coordination of the
program, including, but not limited to: Training, liaison with
EMS, AED deployment strategies and review of each operation of an AED;
(5) Notify the local EMS system and public safety answering
point or other appropriate emergency dispatch center of the
existence of an entity's early defibrillation program, the
location of the program and the program's plan for coordination
with the EMS system;
(6) Provide that an operator of an AED who renders emergency
care or treatment on a person experiencing cardiac arrest shall
activate the EMS system as soon as possible, and report any use
of an AED to the program medical director; and
(7) Comply with the guidelines of the West Virginia office
of emergency medical services regarding data collection and
reporting.
§16-4D-4. Limitation on liability.
A person is not liable for civil damages as a result of any
act or omission in rendering emergency medical care or treatment
involving the use of an AED if the care or treatment does not
amount to gross negligence and the following conditions are met:
(a) The person, a program entity, certified trainer or
medical director of an early defibrillation program is in
compliance with the provisions of section three of this article; or
(b) The person is an operator of an AED who gratuitously and
in good faith renders care and who is in compliance with the
requirements of subsections (2) and (6) of section three of this
article.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to address the issue of
the more than 250,000 people who die each year as a result of
sudden cardiac arrest. The bill provides for the establishment
of early defibrillation programs using automated external
defibrillators (AEDs). The early defibrillation programs are to
provide appropriate operator training in both AEDs and in
administration of CPR. A medical director is required for each
program. Notification and involvement of local emergency medical
services systems are required. Guidelines are to be established
by the West Virginia Office of Emergency Medical Services.
Limited liability to provide for compliance with the statutory
provisions of this bill. The bill is based on model legislation
developed by the American Heart Association.
This bill has been recommended for passage by the
Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and Human Resources
Accountability.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.