| Chapter 389 |
| 2024 -- S 3124 Enacted 06/26/2024 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS REQUIRED AT PUBLIC PLACES AND HEALTH CARE FACILITIES |
Introduced By: Senators DiPalma, Ciccone, and Britto |
| Date Introduced: May 31, 2024 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. The title of Chapter 23-6.5 of the General Laws entitled "Automated External |
| Defibrillators Required at Public Places" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| CHAPTER 23-6.5 |
| Automated External Defibrillators Required at Public Places |
| CHAPTER 23-6.5 |
| AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS REQUIRED AT PUBLIC PLACES AND |
| HEALTH CAREHEALTHCARE FACILITIES |
| SECTION 2. Sections 23-6.5-1 and 23-6.5-2 of the General Laws in Chapter 23-6.5 entitled |
| "Automated External Defibrillators Required at Public Places" are hereby amended to read as |
| follows: |
| 23-6.5-1. Legislative findings. |
| (1) Approximately three hundred twenty-five thousand (325,000) Americans suffer sudden |
| cardiac arrest (“SCA”) each year and more than ninety-five percent (95%) of them die before |
| reaching the hospital; |
| (2) In the population of Rhode Island, an estimated one thousand (1,000) residents will die |
| of cardiac arrest every year; |
| (3) Facilities Health careHealthcare facilities, as well as facilities that host large numbers |
| of visitors, are more likely to experience an event that requires an automated external defibrillator |
| (“AED”); |
| (4) If defibrillation is performed within five (5) to seven (7) minutes, chances of survival |
| are increased by forty-nine percent (49%). Every minute that goes by without defibrillation reduces |
| the chance of survival by seven percent (7%) to ten percent (10%); |
| (5) Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are extremely accurate computerized devices |
| that can be operated by the average person; and |
| (6) Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) can be acquired through grants from various |
| organizations or through government agencies. |
| 23-6.5-2. Automated external defibrillators requirements. |
| (a) As used in this chapter, “public place” means an enclosed area capable of holding three |
| hundred (300) people or more and to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted, |
| including, but not limited to: banks; bars; educational facilities; healthcare facilities; laundromats; |
| public transportation facilities; reception areas; restaurants; retail food production and marketing |
| establishments; retail service establishments; retail stores; shopping malls; sports arenas; |
| government offices; theaters; and waiting rooms. A private residence is not a “public place” unless |
| it is used as a childcare, adult daycare, or healthcare facility. |
| (b) Notwithstanding the provisions contained in § 5-50-12 or § 16-21-33.1 relating to |
| automated external defibrillators in health clubs and schools, any person who owns or operates a |
| public place or health carehealthcare facility as defined in subsection (a) of this section§ 23-6.5-4 |
| shall provide and maintain: |
| (1) On-site, functional automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in quantities and types, |
| deemed by the director of health, to be adequate to ensure ready and appropriate access for use |
| during emergencies; and |
| (2) At least one person who is properly trained in the operation and use of an AED. Training |
| required by this chapter may be conducted by qualified personnel, including, but not limited to, |
| municipal fire and police department employees. |
| SECTION 3. Chapter 23-6.5 of the General Laws entitled "Automated External |
| Defibrillators Required at Public Places" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following |
| section: |
| 23-6.5-4. Definitions. |
| The following definitions govern the construction of this chapter: |
| (1) "Health careHealthcare facility" means any healthcare facility licensed by the |
| department of health including any institutional health-service provider, facility, or institution, |
| place, building, agency, or portion thereof, whether a partnership or corporation, whether public or |
| private, whether organized for profit or not, used, operated, or engaged in providing healthcare |
| services, including, but not limited to: hospitals; nursing facilities; rehabilitation centers; kidney |
| disease treatment centers; health maintenance organizations; and facilities providing surgical |
| treatment to patients not requiring hospitalization (surgi-centers); hospice care,; and physician |
| ambulatory-surgery centers and podiatry ambulatory-surgery centers providing surgical treatment. |
| The term "health carehealthcare facility" also includes organized ambulatory-care facilities that |
| are not part of a hospital but that are organized and operated to provide healthcare services to |
| outpatients, such as: central-services facilities serving more than one health carehealthcare facility |
| or healthcare provider; treatment centers; diagnostic centers; outpatient clinics; infirmaries and |
| health centers; school-based health centers, and neighborhood health centers. The term "health |
| carehealthcare facility" also includes a practitioner's (physician, dentist, or other healthcare |
| provider) office or group of practitioners' offices (whether owned and/or operated by a hospital or |
| an affiliate of a hospital or an individual practitioner, alone or as a member of a partnership, |
| professional service corporation, organization, or association). |
| (2) "Public place" means an enclosed area capable of holding three hundred (300) people |
| or more and to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted, including, but not |
| limited to: banks; bars; educational facilities; laundromats; public transportation facilities; |
| reception areas; restaurants; retail food production and marketing establishments; retail service |
| establishments; retail stores; shopping malls; sports arenas; government offices; theaters; and |
| waiting rooms. A private residence is not a "public place" unless it is used as a childcare or adult |
| daycare facility. |
| SECTION 4. This act shall take effect on September 1, 2024. |
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| LC006206 |
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