Bill > S1589

This bill aims to improve sudden cardiac arrest outcomes by making several key changes to emergency response protocols and data collection. First, it modifies the composition of the State 911 Department's advisory board by adding a physician specializing in emergency medicine and creating separate representatives for Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) serving different population sizes. The bill mandates comprehensive quality assurance and improvement (QA/QI) regulations for emergency calls involving cardiac arrest, requiring PSAPs to conduct detailed reviews of such calls within 60 days, collect specific data about response times and interventions, and submit these reviews electronically to the State 911 Department. Additionally, the legislation establishes an automated external defibrillator (AED) registry to help 911 telecommunicators quickly locate accessible devices and requires clear signage indicating AED locations in public buildings. The bill also directs the Department of Public Health to participate in the CDC's Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES), which will help monitor performance, identify problems, and develop strategies to improve cardiac arrest response systems. Furthermore, the State 911 Department will create annual awards recognizing exceptional performance by individual dispatchers and PSAPs in cardiac arrest response. The bill requires a report to the Joint Committee on Public Health and Public Safety within one year of regulation implementation and will take effect 180 days after passage.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1589