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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
REQUESTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COUNTYWIDE CPR & AED TRAINING AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AND EXPANSION OF TRAINING ACCESS
WHEREAS, in one year alone, 475,000 Americans die from cardiac arrest and globally, cardiac arrest claims more lives than colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, influenza, pneumonia, auto accidents, HIV, firearms, and house fires combined; 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; 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 Cook County Health and Hospitals System along with the Cook County Department of Public Health can contribute to decreasing the incidents of fatal heart attacks in Cook County by creating a robust awareness campaign to increase participation of Cook County employees in existing training programs on how to properly administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation and how to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) as well as expand access to such trainings countywide in all County workplaces; and
WHEREAS, the State of Illinois beginning in 2014 has made such training a curricula requirement for all secondary schools in the state; and
WHEREAS, the County awareness and training initiative should cover adult CPR & AED training and such training must include a hands-on practice component for beginners, as well as be in accordance with the standards of the American Heart Association, or another nationally recognized certifying organization; 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 development of a countywide CPR and AED training awareness campaign for all Cook County employees as well as expanded access to training programs in all County workplaces 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 Health and Hospitals System along with the Cook County Department of Public Health and their partners develop such awareness campaign and that the expanded training program shall be in accordance with the standards of the American Heart Association, or another nationally recognized certifying organization; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Cook County Health and Hospitals System or one of its partners such as the American Heart Association provide this Honorable Body with statistics on the number of lives that could be saved in Cook County by knowing and using CPR and/or AED; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the awareness campaign and expanded training access should begin in February 2019 to coincide with American Heart Month; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that data on said awareness campaign and expanded training including the total number of employees newly trained or re-trained in CPR and AED as well as their employment location by district be added to the monthly and annual Cook County Health and Hospitals System reports.
Effective Date: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon adoption.
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