Georgia HB 874 is proposed legislation that will: 1) Mandate the presence of at least 1 Automatic External Defibrillator in all Georgia public schools grades K-12 and 2) Mandate Emergency Practice Plan (EAP) drills at least twice a year in all Georgia public schools. Over 23,000 children ≥18 years-old suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year in the United States. Many of these cases occur in our schools. Without a well-practiced EAP which consists of immediate CPR and immediate access to a defibrillator, survival is <10%. With a well-rehearsed EAP, survival increases 7x, up to 70%. This bill will therefore save the lives of our children, and we need your support.
While GA HB874 passed overwhelmingly in the Georgia House, it is now stalled in the Senate because of politics. We only have 5 more days in this legislative session to pass this bill! Please call your local state senator and demand that this is unacceptable and they must proceed with a vote on this bill in the senate. We must remind our state senators that this bill is about the safety of our children and politics should not get in the way.