2024 -- S 3124

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LC006206

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2024

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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

     Referred To: Senate Health & Human Services

     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 CARE 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 care 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 care 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 care 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,

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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

care 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 care 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 care 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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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO HEALTH AND SAFETY -- AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS

REQUIRED AT PUBLIC PLACES AND HEALTH CARE FACILITIES

***

     This act would require all health care facilities to provide functional automated external

defibrillators (AEDs) and least one person who is properly trained in the operation and use of an

AED.

     This act would take effect on September 1, 2024.

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