Assembly Concurrent Resolution 159
NOTE: In 2006, ACR 159 was unanimously passed by both houses of government in Sacramento. It sets aside September 12 (Travis’ birthday) of every year as a memorial day for victims of Sudden Cardiac Arrest. The text of the resolution is below.
Introduced by Assembly Member Haynes August 7, 2006
Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 159 Relative
to Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Day.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
ACR 159, as introduced, Haynes. Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Day.
This measure would proclaim September 12, 2006, as Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Day, designate the states observance of September 12 of following years as a commemorative holiday to honor those who died as a result of sudden cardiac arrest, and request public schools and public agencies to observe Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Day, as specified.
WHEREAS, Nationwide more than 325,000 Americans die each year from sudden cardiac arrest, which amounts to 900 people per day at a rate of one person every 90 seconds; and
WHEREAS, More Americans die each year from sudden cardiac arrest than from AIDS, Breast Cancer, Prostate Cancer, Colon Cancer and car accidents combined; and
WHEREAS, Almost 95 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims die before they reach a hospital or obtain other emergency medical attention; and
WHEREAS, Eighty percent of sudden cardiac arrests are caused by ventricular fibrillation, a heart rhythm variance for which defibrillation and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) are the only effective treatments; and
WHEREAS, Sudden cardiac arrest causes the brain to begin dying within four to six minutes of onset. For every minute that passes while a person is experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, chances of survival decrease by 10 percent. After six minutes, according to studies conducted by the Mayo Clinic, the chance of resuscitating a sudden cardiac arrest victim is almost zero; and
WHEREAS, While sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death in the United States, Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) can prevent these deaths. AEDs enable medical and non-medical rescuers to deliver a potentially lifesaving defibrillation to sudden cardiac arrest victims. The national sudden cardiac arrest survival rate without defibrillation and CPR is less than 5 percent; and
WHEREAS, The State of California has already mandated that health studios have an AED; and
WHEREAS, The federal government has already mandated every commercial airplane to have an AED on board; and
WHEREAS, A sudden cardiac arrest event is 30 times more likely to occur in a school than on an airplane; and
WHEREAS, On any given day, 20 percent of the population, both adults and children, occupy our nations schools; and
WHEREAS, An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 schoolaged children die each year from sudden cardiac arrest. In the United States, one out of every 100,000 to 300,000 high school athletes will die each year from sudden cardiac arrest; and
WHEREAS, In communities with strong public access defibrillation programs, the sudden cardiac arrest survival rate, when defibrillation and CPR are provided within the first three minutes, is up to 75 percent; and
WHEREAS, Education, training, and preparedness are critical factors in the ability to successfully save the life of a sudden cardiac arrest victim; and
WHEREAS, Heightened public awareness of how critical time is in providing treatment to sudden cardiac arrest victims can help save lives; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature proclaims September 12, 2006, as Sudden Cardiac Awareness Day, and designates the states observance of September 12 of following years as a commemorative holiday for public schools and public agencies to observe Sudden Cardiac Awareness Day thereby honoring and memorializing those who have fallen victim to sudden cardiac arrest, and celebrating those who have survived by the timely use of an Automated External Defibrillator and cardiopulmonary resuscitation; and be it further Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.