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Committee tables bill on portable airway‑clearance devices after pediatrics group raises safety concerns
Summary
Representative Townsend's substitute bill to require portable suction airway‑clearance devices in child care centers and shorten required CPR certification timelines was tabled after medical testimony raised concerns about FDA approval, single‑use status, training, and the potential to delay proven CPR methods.
Representative Townsend presented a substitute (LC550468S) prompted by the death of a 16‑month‑old child in a Brunswick daycare. The bill would have required child care centers to maintain a portable airway‑clearance suction device as an additional option when CPR and abdominal thrusts fail, shortened the time for staff to obtain CPR certification from 90 to 45 days, and allowed training to be delivered in person, online or via literature.
Townsend described the device as a "third tool in the toolbox" to be used only after other measures failed; he and supporters said devices retail for about $100 or less and stressed they are intended to supplement, not replace, CPR.
Rick Ward, executive director of the Georgia chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, testified against mandating the devices. He told the committee the devices are not FDA‑approved, are often single‑use, and the Food and Drug Administration had issued a safety communication the prior spring warning that such devices could delay established treatments and carry risks. Ward said pediatric and resuscitation authorities (American Heart Association and American Red Cross) do not endorse routine use of these suction devices.
Following discussion and requests for additional consultation with DECAL, manufacturers and medical associations, a motion to table the bill carried by voice vote so the author and stakeholders can address safety, training and procurement questions. The bill will return to committee when those matters are resolved.
