108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 250
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Recognizing community organization of public
access defibrillation programs.
108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. CON. RES. 250
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Whereas coronary heart disease is the single leading cause of
death in the United States;
Whereas every two minutes, an individual suffers from car-
diac arrest in the United States, and 250,000 Americans
die each year from cardiac arrest out of hospital;
•HCON 250 EH
Whereas the chance of survival for a victim of cardiac arrest
diminishes by ten percent each minute following sudden
cardiac arrest;
Whereas 80 percent of cardiac arrests are caused by ventric-
ular fibrillation, for which defibrillation is the only effec-
tive treatment;
Whereas 60 percent of all cardiac arrests occur outside the
hospital, and the average national survival rate for an
out-of-hospital victim of cardiac arrest is only five per-
cent;
Whereas automated external defibrillators (AEDs) make it
possible for trained non-medical rescuers to deliver poten-
tially life-saving defibrillation to victims of cardiac arrest;
Whereas public access defibrillation (PAD) programs train
non-medical individuals to use AEDs;
Whereas communities that have established and implemented
PAD programs that make use of AEDs have achieved av-
erage survival rates as high as 50 percent for those indi-
viduals who have suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac ar-
rest;
Whereas successful PAD programs ensure that cardiac arrest
victims have access to early 911 notification, early
cardiopulmonary resuscitation, early defibrillation, and
advanced care;
Whereas schools, sports arenas, large hotels, concert halls,
high-rise buildings, gated communities, buildings subject
to high-security, and similar facilities can benefit greatly
from the use of AEDs as part of a PAD program, since
it often takes additional and therefore critical time for
emergency medical personnel to respond to victims of car-
diac arrest in these areas;
•HCON 250 EH
Whereas according to the American Heart Association, wide-
spread use of defibrillators could save as many as 50,000
lives nationally each year;
Whereas the Aviation Medical Assistance Act of 1998 (Public
Law 105–170; 49 U.S.C. 44701 note) authorized AEDs
to be carried and used aboard commercial airliners;
Whereas the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 2000 (Public
Law 106–505; 42 U.S.C. 238p–238q) and the Rural Ac-
cess to Emergency Devices Act (Public Law 106–505, 42
U.S.C. 254c note) provided for the placement of AEDs
in Federal office buildings and increased access to AEDs
in rural communities;
Whereas the Community Access to Emergency Defibrillation
Act of 2001 (Public Law 107–188; 42 U.S.C. 244–245)
authorized the development and implementation of PAD
projects;
Whereas the Automatic Defibrillation in Adam’s Memory Act
(presented to the President for his signature on June 20,
2003) authorizes the use of grant funds to establish an
information clearinghouse to provide information to in-
crease public access to defibrillation in schools; and
Whereas Summit County, Ohio serves as an inspiring model
for communities across the United States by providing
access to AEDs in all of the county’s 59 middle and high
schools, in 47 city buildings and community centers, in
17 police departments, and in seven buildings at the Uni-
versity of Akron: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate
concurring), That Congress—
•HCON 250 EH
(1) recognizes the growing number of commu-
nity activists, organizations, and municipal govern-
ments leading the national effort to establish public
access defibrillation (PAD) programs; and
(2) encourages the continued development and
implementation of PAD programs in schools, sports
arenas, large hotels, concert halls, high-rise build-
ings, gated communities, buildings subject to high-
security, and similar facilities to increase the sur-
vival rate for victims of cardiac arrest.
Passed the House of Representatives October 5,
2004.
Attest:
Clerk.