Saving Lives: New policy work coming in 2025

For the upcoming 2025 legislative session, we’re adding something new to the agenda: Cardiac Emergency Response Plans (CERPs) in schools

CERPs are a written document that establishes specific steps to reduce death from cardiac arrest in school settings. It can be stand-alone guidelines or merged with a school’s existing medical response plans. These are important for the safety of students, school staff, and visitors, as school CERP teams are trained and empowered to administer lifesaving care until emergency medical services arrive.

It’s estimated that there are more than 23,000 children who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital each year in the United States. Almost 40% of these events are sports-related. Additionally, in schools with Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), approximately 70% of children survive cardiac arrest – seven times the overall survival rate for children.

We are looking for volunteers who are interested in working with us to help us get CERPs in schools. If you or someone you know were saved by CPR or an AED or if you’re interested in helping us pass this policy, please reach out to our team:

Kami Sutton-Hieronymus [email protected]

Alex Hamasaki [email protected]