American Heart Association backs bill for school cardiac-emergency plans after student’s on-court collapse

At a Health & Welfare meeting, Lillian Tia Zuk, government relations director for the American Heart Association, urged lawmakers to support legislation that would require schools to adopt cardiac emergency response plans after Dominic, a Milton student, described suffering a cardiac arrest during a January basketball game and being revived by trainers and coaches.

The proposed measure, Zuk said, would require schools to maintain not just automated external defibrillators but functioning emergency plans, regular drills and designated trained responders so staff can act immediately when a cardiac arrest occurs. "We are promoting legislation that would require cardiac emergency response plans in schools, so we'll have better outcomes when somebody has a cardiac arrest," Zuk said.

Dominic described the moments leading up to his collapse and his recovery. "I got put into the game on 5, like, first 2 minutes of the game... And then next thing I know, I'm waking up from, like, doctors and, like, possible people, like, surrounding me, trying to, you know, bring me back to life," he said. Trainers and coaches performed CPR on the court, and staff used a defibrillator before he was taken to a hospital and later to Boston Children's Hospital, where he received a pacemaker and defibrillator. He said he was in the hospital about a week.

Meeting participants discussed how common such equipment and plans are in Vermont schools. A staff member said the health department requires facilities with an AED to register them and that "211 schools or school districts" have registered; the speaker estimated the state has roughly "300-ish" schools in total. The group also referenced a small UVM-affiliated survey in which 60 schools responded; those respondents all reported having an AED and 84 reported having a cardiac-response plan.

Committee members reviewed current requirements. A participant said a law passed about 11 years ago requires hands-only CPR instruction as part of comprehensive health education, and that nurses, physical education teachers and paid coaches are generally required to be CPR trained through licensure or association rules. But the meeting emphasized that statutory education requirements do not ensure that schools have team-based emergency response plans, mobile AED access during after-school activities or routine drills.

Zuk and others noted a small allocation of funding approved last year to provide hands-on CPR kits to schools; Zuk said the American Heart Association and partners had identified schools they considered high priority for distribution and that Milton and Spaulding were on the list. A meeting participant said the bill had been requested for the week of the meeting but had not yet been formally introduced; "it'll be introduced very soon," the speaker said.

Why it matters: Cardiac arrest in schools is rare but time-sensitive; immediate CPR and early defibrillation substantially increase survival. Witnesses at the meeting said inconsistent planning, limited personnel coverage and locked AEDs during after-hours events can delay response. The proposed legislation is intended to standardize plans and drills statewide to reduce those delays.

Next steps: Meeting participants said the draft bill would be circulated soon and that the American Heart Association and local partners would assist schools with training and equipment distribution plans.