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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
URGING THE U.S. CONGRESS TO PASS H.R.2370, THE ACCESS to AEDs ACT
WHEREAS, heart disease (including coronary heart disease, hypertension, and stroke) remains the No. 1 cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States and cardiovascular diseases claim more lives each year than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined accounting for 1 in every 4 deaths; and
WHEREAS, heart disease is the leading cause of death in Cook County as well, accounting for just for 10,259 deaths in 2021 of that, 4,974 were in the City of Chicago and 5,285 were in suburban Cook County; and
WHEREAS, Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller and the Board of Commissioners approved resolutions creating in person and virtual “hands only” CPR & AED training, and including the virtual training as part of the on-boarding process for new employees and which is available to all county employees providing the knowledge needed so we can eliminate one of the barriers to not being able to survive a heart attack; and
WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the estimated annual incidence of heart attack in the United States is 805,000 attacks, 605,000 are new attacks and 200,000 are recurrent attacks with Americans suffering a heart attack approximately every 36 seconds; and
WHEREAS, as many of us were so soberly reminded of last year with the on field cardiac event suffered by Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin, CPR/AED training is vital to helping people survive such an event, and Mr. Hamlin has since teamed up with the American Heart Association to launch his #3forHeart™ CPR Challenge aimed at saving more lives through CPR education and training; and
WHEREAS, additionally, Sudden Cardiac Arrest can strike at any time and occurs in 7,000-23,000 youth under the age of 18 each year in the United States. Data shows that prompt CPR initiated by a bystander and the use of a publicly available automated external defibrillator (AED) can nearly double or triple the chance of survival from sudden cardiac arrest. The Access to AEDs Act, which was introduced in March by Representatives Shelia Cherfilus-McCormick and Bill Posey, both of Florida, and Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, would help ensure all schools are as prepared and trained to respond in a time of crisis as those on the sidelines of an NFL game; and
WHEREAS, an estimated 350,000 people in the United States experience sudden cardiac arrest outside of the hospital each year, and 1 in 300 youth has an undetected heart condition that puts them at risk. This bill would extend access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs), increase CPR training, and enable the creation of cardiac emergency response plans in schools across the country. The American Heart Association has endorsed the bill and urges swift congressional action to save lives in communities nationwide; and
WHEREAS, the need for better resources to coordinate robust awareness of and training in life saving CPR/AED programs is what led Commissioner Donna Miller to introduce a Resolution in Support of Federal and Local Government Coordination to Advance Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Training and Implementation at the most recent NACo Legislative Conference, where it passed unanimously, and will be introduced at the NACo Annual Conference in July; and
WHEREAS, currently the bill is endorsed by the American College of Cardiology, American Red Cross, NFL, Major League Baseball, NHL, NBA, WNBA, NASCAR, Major League Soccer, NCAA, National Alliance for Youth Sports, National Association of Secondary School Principals, American Federation of School Administrators, the National Association of State EMS Officials and many other organizations committed to the safety of all who enter school grounds; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby urge the United States Congress to pass H.R2320, the Access to AEDs Act to give schools the tools they need to save lives; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be tendered the Illinois’ Congressional delegation, the House Speaker and Minority Leader, the Senate Majority Leader and Minority Leader, and the White House.
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