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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A VIRTUAL COUNTYWIDE CPR & AED TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ALL NEWLY HIRED AND CURRENT COOK COUNTY EMPLOYEES
WHEREAS, in January 2019, the Cook County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution (File #19-0645) requesting the development of a countywide CPR and AED training awareness campaign for all Cook County employees as well as expanded access to training programs; and
WHEREAS, as a result of this legislation, hundreds of Cook County employees including but not limited to the President and staff, members of the Board of Commissioners and staff, executives and staff from agencies of separately elected officials such as the Clerk of the Circuit Court, the County Clerk, the Recorder of Deeds, the County Assessor, the State’s Attorney, the Treasurer, and the Board of Review, the Independent Board of Directors and executives of Cook County Health were all able to receive hands only CPR and AED training over the last 2 years; and
WHEREAS, heart disease (including Coronary Heart Disease, Hypertension, and Stroke) remains the No. 1 cause of death in the United States, while the estimated annual incidence of heart attack in the U.S. is 720,000 new attacks and 335,000 recurrent attacks per year; and
WHEREAS, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital each year and nearly 45 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims survived when bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered, as immediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival after cardiac arrest; however, one of the “Bystander Effect” statistics that is especially troubling is that African Americans and Hispanics are 30-50% less likely to have CPR performed if they suffer an incident. This sobering statistic correlates directly to the disparities in health care we’ve been discussing in the context of health equity, but is something we can improve upon through education and training; and
WHEREAS, similarly to national statistics, heart disease is the leading cause of death in Cook County as well, accounting for just under 10,000 deaths per year with more than half occurring in suburban Cook County; and
WHEREAS, the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic has shined a light on the unprecedented level of disparities in healthcare outcomes especially in the African-American and Latinx communities in Chicago and Cook County; and
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated that the most recent data suggests that adults of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness from the virus that causes COVID-19, defined as hospitalization, admission to the ICU, intubation or mechanical ventilation, or death; and
WHEREAS, some of these underlying conditions include but are not limited to: heart conditions, such as heart failure, coronary artery disease, or cardiomyopathies, cancer, type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, sickle cell disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and obesity; and
WHEREAS, African Americans and Latinx communities are disproportionately impacted by some of the underlying conditions that have affected the severity of the virus, including chronic cardiovascular diseases and the above-mentioned conditions, and the causes of said disparity are rooted in generations of systemic disadvantages in health care delivery and health care access in communities of color, and in African American communities in particular; and
WHEREAS, unfortunately the in-person County awareness and training initiative is on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic; however, there already exists virtual CPR & AED training programs that can be implemented as part of this initiative and the County’s already substantial online training programs that are in accordance with the standards of the American Heart Association (AHA), such as those offered by Illinois Heart Rescue, which has already conducted County in-person training; and
WHEREAS, the pandemic has infected more than 21 million people in the United States and killed over 400,000 to date, but has also had a ripple effect on other disease states by causing problems with the treatment of other conditions because hospitals are overwhelmed, or people are staying home and aren't coming in when they have heart attacks and strokes and other emergencies, making the implementation of a virtual CPR & AED training for our employees all the more critical; and
WHEREAS, as of January 19th, 2021, there have been over 194,000 cases of Covid-19, resulting in over 3,600 deaths in Suburban Cook County jurisdictions under the Cook County Department of Public Health; and
WHEREAS, once we are able to safely return to in-person CPR & AED training, it is important that the county continue to work with our partners at AHA and Illinois Heart Rescue to continue the training sessions started in 2019; and
WHEREAS, any improvement in outcomes associated with heart attacks would have an immeasurable impact on survivors both for County employees and their co-workers and families as well as the general public;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the President and the Cook County Board of Commissioners requests the implementation of a countywide virtual CPR and AED training program for all newly hired and current Cook County employees in order to assist in reducing incidents of death due to cardiac arrest both in the workplace and general public; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President and Cook County Board of Commissioners requests that the Cook County Bureau of Human Resources work with the American Heart Association to implement such training program to be in accordance with the standards of the American Heart Association; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cook County Bureau of Human Resources make such training available as part of the new hire training package, in addition to making it available to all current employees; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the County will work with our partners to continue in-person CPR & AED training once it is safe to do so; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that data on virtual training including the total number of employees newly trained or re-trained in Hands Only CPR and AED be reported to the Cook County Board of Commissioners on an annual basis.
Effective Date: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
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