Mississippi Capitol Day

On February 12th, several American Heart Association volunteers and staff gathered in Jackson for a successful 2024 Mississippi Capitol Day.

Our Government Relations Director, Laken Camp, invited staff as well as volunteers Dr. Debbie Minor and Amanda Fontaine to meet with Sen. Nicole Boyd, Sen. Robin Robinson, Rep. Kent McCarty, Rep. Lance Varner (pictured), and Rep. Robert Johnson to discuss various legislation that the Association is prioritizing this legislative session, including Medicaid expansion and cardiac emergency response plans in schools.

Our key issue is to prepare schools for cardiac arrest. We applaud Sen. Nicole Boyd and Rep. Kent McCarty for sponsoring SB 2349 and HB 1548 that ensures schools Mississippi schools have a cardiac emergency response plan (CERP) in place, listing specific steps to reduce death from cardiac arrest in school and athletic settings. A coordinated, practiced response plan where school CERP teams are trained and empowered to administer lifesaving care until Emergency Medical Services (EMS) arrive will enhance the safety of students, school staff and visitors. Our conversations about the CERP legislation in the House and Senate have been very favorable, and we look forward for the bills to begin moving through the legislative process.

We continue to monitor bills that would increase access to healthcare. Uninsured and underinsured patients are more likely to report access issues related to cost, including not filling a prescription, forgoing needed specialist care, or even not seeking medical care during an acute heart attack. Delaying care can have huge negative consequences for both patients and for the healthcare system. It’s important Mississippians can get the medical care they need to protect their health.