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Ohio Cares asks Legislature to fund statewide cardiac-arrest registry and bystander-CPR outreach
Summary
Medical and advocacy groups asked the Public Safety Committee to add an amendment funding Ohio Cares, the state's cardiac arrest registry, and to support bystander CPR efforts in rural communities; witnesses said Ohio's bystander-CPR rate is below the national average and the registry requires state funding to continue.
Medical and public-health advocates told the House Public Safety Committee that Ohio Cares, the state's cardiac arrest registry, needs new funding to expand bystander CPR outreach — especially in rural counties where EMS response times are longer.
Dr. Justin Benoit, chairman of Ohio Cares, and Dustin Hoelfinger of the American Heart Association asked lawmakers to support an amendment (identified in testimony as HC0257 tied to HB 96) to appropriate funds to the Ohio Department of Public Safety so Ohio Cares can continue and scale work that measures the entire chain of survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
Witnesses said Ohio experiences about 10,000 cardiac arrests a year and that bystander CPR is performed in roughly 33 percent of incidents, below a U.S. average cited in testimony. Dr. Benoit told the committee that Ohio Cares currently receives $25,000 per year from the state and that without additional funding the registry will cease operations after 2025. He said additional funding would support outreach, dispatcher-assisted CPR efforts, training multipliers that teach people to train others, and rural community assistance.
Hoelfinger added that registry data is important for public-health surveillance and targeting outreach; he said many EMS agencies in Ohio are not yet part of Ohio Cares and that the registry helps identify coverage gaps. Committee members asked how the program would be implemented and witnesses said funds would pay for staff dedicated to data, outreach and local assistance; Dr. Benoit offered to provide a detailed budget showing staffing and program costs.
