Bill to require school cardiac emergency plans advanced

Senators advanced a measure from first-round debate Jan. 16 that would require Nebraska school districts to develop a cardiac emergency response plan, on assurances from the introducer that the measure would be narrowed on select file.

LB463, as introduced last session by Lincoln Sen. Beau Ballard, would require districts to create a cardiac emergency response plan template under the School Safety and Security Reporting Act and provide plan grants from the Medicaid Managed Care Excess Profit Fund.

Under the bill, each district would establish a template for use by schools to respond in the event of a sudden cardiac arrest on school grounds or at a school-sponsored activity or event.

Ballard said approximately 23,000 American children under age 18 experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting each year and about 40% of those episodes are sports related.

“[Cardiac arrest] is the leading cause of adolescent death in the United States,” Ballard said.

Emergency medical response teams in rural parts of Nebraska often must travel long distances to reach schools, he said, and LB463 would “bridge the gap” until EMS arrival by ensuring access to automated external defibrillators and training in AED use.

At minimum, plans would be required to include:
• establishment and training of a school cardiac emergency response team;
• placement of AEDs on school grounds in unlocked locations that allow retrieval and use in fewer than three minutes;
• annual practice drills by faculty and students;
• coordination with local EMS providers; and
• annual review and evaluation of the plan by the school board and school district.

The state Department of Health and Human Services would be ​​required to provide training for all public and nonprofit school cardiac emergency response team members. In addition, the state Department of Education would be required to develop a program to provide grants to
school districts for costs associated with the plan.

Lincoln Sen. George Dungan said he supported the proposal but had concerns regarding its funding source. He said DHHS has indicated that the Medicaid Managed Care Excess Profit Fund currently is over-committed and would not be receiving additional money this year.

The fund captures excess profits beyond what the state’s three Medicaid managed care organizations are allowed to retain.

Sen. Jana Hughes of Seward expressed concern that the bill as written would be an unfunded mandate for local schools. For example, she said, the provision that all schools be able to deploy an AED within three minutes would be problematic for schools with practice fields that are far from their main campus.

Ballard said discussions were ongoing with stakeholders to possibly change the requirement to five minutes rather than three on the next round of debate. In addition, he said, a pending select file amendment would create a new cash fund that could receive federal grants or private dollars to fund grants to schools.

North Platte Sen. Mike Jacobson opposed the bill and said he “didn’t see any reason to move it forward” given the other important work ahead of the Legislature. If schools have a “driving need” for cardiac response plans, he said, they should find a way to pay for them without tax dollars.

“Mandating them to do this regardless of [whether] there’s funding there is wrongheaded and not something the Legislature should be doing,” Jacobson said. “It’s the opposite of what we should be doing.”

Lawmakers voted 25-15 to advance LB463 to select file. Twenty-five votes were needed.