INDIANAPOLIS — Testimony in support of legislation that will ensure operating AEDs are present at athletic facilities will be heard by the Indiana House Education Committee on Wednesday.
SB 369 would require anyone overseeing or supervising an activity at an athletic facility to be informed of the location of the AED and would ensure every venue has a specific emergency action plan when sudden cardiac arrest occurs.
Lawmakers are referring to the bill as "Jake's Law" after Jake West, who died in 2013 at the age of 17 after having sudden cardiac arrest at football practice in LaPorte.
“Losing a child is every parent’s nightmare. Jake would be 27 this year,” said Jake’s mom Julie West “I know installing AEDs might not save every young athlete who suffers sudden cardiac arrest at school, but saving just one life—knowing that another family could be spared the pain we have endured—would make this fight worth it.”
Julia West has been adamant about spreading awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and the importance of AED's. She spoke with WRTV last month.
She is one of several people who will testify at the hearing on Wednesday.
Sudden cardiac death (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the U.S., taking the lives of 356,000 people annually; it is the number one killer of student-athletes and the leading cause of death on school campuses.
