CLEVELAND, OH — A proposal to require schools and public recreation centers to have potentially life-saving devices is getting new life in the Ohio state legislature.
House Bill 47 would mandate automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in those facilities.
The idea gained new steam after the collapse and sudden cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin during a Monday Night Football game in Cincinnati in January.
Despite recommendations from groups including the Ohio High School Athletic Association and the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research that the devices be available, AEDs are not required in schools or on sidelines in Ohio.
State Rep. Rich Brown is one of the primary sponsors of H.B. 47.
Brown sponsored similar legislation last year that never made it out of committee.
In an interview last month, the Franklin County Democrat said it doesn't make sense that Ohio law requires schools to have a plan on how to use AEDs but not to actually require the devices.
A spokesperson for OHSAA said at the time the organization did not have data showing how many schools are equipped with the devices.
In a medical emergency, an AED can shock the heart back into rhythm.
It's what happened last month during a pick-up hockey game in Shaker Heights when Brandon Miller suddenly collapsed.
Fellow players raced off the ice and grabbed the rink's AED while others performed CPR.
Now, the 35-year old Miller is recovering and said the devices need to be available.
"Those need to be provided, I would say, in any public facility," said Miller, "because, as I learned, it can happen to anybody."
