Advocacy for Automatic Emergency Defibrillators Through Legislation Essay

Problem

The issue of the availability of automatic emergency defibrillators (AEDs) is quite relevant for the Kings County Hospital Center in New York since its usage allows for a significant reduction in the number of deaths from cardiac arrest at hospital center facilities. Indeed, while all of the hospital facilities belonging to the Kings County Hospital Center have an adequate number of AEDs, 30 of its Gotham Health Centers still do not have the adequate quantity of AEDs installed. Studies show that “overall survival rates without AEDs or action plans were a low 10%” while “automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and cardiac emergency response plans (CERPs) [provided] a nearly 70% survival rate (Saberian et al., 2018, p. 3). Apart from the physical availability of AED at Gotham Health Center facilities, appropriate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training programs should be launched for the staff to help them cope with cardiac arrest issues.

The success of resuscitation efforts depends not only on the availability of AEDs but also on the time that elapses between cardiac attest and the start of emergency defibrillator usage (Andrews et al., 2018). That is why it is essential to have AEDs installed at Gotham Health Center facilities since it will allow medical staff to get quick access to the equipment. If no measures are taken, the patients who suffer cardiac arrest within Gotham Health Centers will unlikely get timely help, which would result in high death rates in this patient group.

Idea for Addressing Solution

AEDs should be placed in Gotham Health Centers for personal medical usage. Hospital authorities must make sure that there are enough AED items for all hospital facilities and that they are kept in good order. Due to the seriousness of the consequences of the absence or untimely usage of AED in a hospital center environment, the issue of its unavailability should be properly addressed. Recent legislative initiatives tend to view this issue as separate from other medical issues. Indeed, many states have adopted legislative rulings on the provision of public places with AEDs. Over the years, the problem has been considered primarily in the legislative key, and an extensive practice of legislative rulings on AED usage has been formed. That is why legislation is the best course for advocacy of this issue.

Researching the Issue

Evidence 1

The issue of AED placement in public places is seen as a concern of the states, which is why a number of legislative initiatives have been passed to address the issue. Thus, it is known that “all 50 states and the District of Columbia now include AED usage as part of their Good Samaritan laws” (AED defibrillator legislation – AED Resources, n.d.).

Evidence 2

The New York state requires obligatory placement of AEDs in many public places, among which are “school districts, boards of cooperative educational services, dental facilities, health clubs with memberships of 500+, places of public assembly, public institutions and state buildings, and public/private surf beach or swimming facilities” (AED defibrillator legislation – AED Resources, n.d.). However, so far, the legislation has not covered health centers and clinics, which raises the need to advocate the issue of AED placement in these facilities through legislation.

Stakeholder Support

Stakeholder(s) Supporting 1

The New York State community would be in favor of the proposed idea since it aims to improve the outcomes and reduce mortality rates among people who suffer cardiac arrest at clinics or health centers. Since the onset of cardiac arrest can hardly be predicted, every community member would be directly or indirectly impacted by the initiative.

Stakeholder(s) Supporting 2

The Kings County health centers’ staff would be in favor of the proposed idea since these are the ones who most often get blamed for untimely resuscitation measures or the deaths of patients due to cardiac arrest.

Stakeholder Opposition

Stakeholder(s) Opposed 1

The Kings County Hospital Center management may oppose the idea since its implementation presupposes additional expenses for the Hospital Center. Money considerations may be alleviated by the fact that, in the long run, the proposed measures will serve to attract more patients as people are willing to entrust their health to clinics equipped for any emergency.

Stakeholder(s) Opposed 2

Other clinics may oppose the proposed idea since, if adopted at a legislative level, it would necessitate other health centers to spend money on equipping their clinics with AEDs and training the staff. These considerations may be alleviated by the suggestion that if the initiative is adopted, there might be budget allocations to implement the program.

Financial Incentives/Costs

The proposed initiative may be rather costly since acquiring a certain number of AEDs may be rather expensive. A cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training program to allow the staff to get the necessary skills may add to the proposed costs.

While there is no alternative solution to equipping health centers with AEDs, there are options in the education programs used for staff training. Thus, Kiyohara et al. (2019) suggest using emergency response plans (CERPs) that outline the sequence of actions in cardiac arrest situations. Boudreaux and Broussard (2020) speak about an emergency action plan (EAP) that increases the survival rate of children suffering from cardiac arrest. These plans may, in fact, be much cheaper to implement than the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training program.

Legislature: Information Needed and Process for Proposal

The steps for the presentation the idea to the legislator

The senator can be reached through NYSenate.gov. In the letter, I would describe the problem and the proposed solution, as well as speak about the legislation needed for the implementation.

• Step 1 – Outlining the problem
• Step 2 – Benefits of the proposed solution
• Step 3 – Legislative measures needed

The process if the legislator chooses to introduce the idea as a bill to Congress

Once the idea is introduced into Congress as a bill, it would have to undergo a committee process, after which it can be passed by the Senate and the Assembly. After the bill is passed, it must be signed by the governor.

Christian Principles and Nursing Advocacy

Principles of a Christian worldview on which legislative advocacy in healthcare is based are felt in many spheres. Thus, the core principles of compassion find their reflection in advocacy for taking care of those who need them most. The principle of equality of everyone before God is well portrayed in the advocacy of practices of inclusion and equal treatment without regard to gender or ethnicity. Positive health outcomes are often the result of empathy healthcare workers experience when they do their best to alleviate the sufferings of their patients.

References

AED defibrillator legislation (n. d.)- AED Resources. AED.US. Web.

Andrews, J., Vaillancourt, C., Jensen, J., Kasaboski, A., Charette, M., Clement, C., Brehaut, J., Osmond, M., Wells, G., Stiell, I., Grimshaw, J. (2018). Factors influencing the intentions of nurses and respiratory therapists to use automated external defibrillators during in-hospital cardiac arrest: A qualitative interview study. CJEM, 20(1), 68-79.

Boudreaux, S., & Broussard, L. (2020). School nurses’ perceived barriers and perceptual influences when implementing aed programs. The Journal of School Nursing, 36(3), 187-192. Web.

Kiyohara, K., Sado, J., Kitamura, T., Ayusawa, M., Nitta, M., Iwami, T., Nakata, K., Sobue, T. & Kitamura, Y. (2019). Public-access automated external defibrillation and bystander-initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation in schools: a nationwide investigation in Japan. EP Europace, 21(3), 451-458. Web.

Newbanks, R. S., Rieg, L. S., & Schaefer, B. (2018). What is caring in nursing?: Sorting out humanistic and Christian perspectives. Journal of Christian Nursing, 35(3), 160-167.

Saberian, S., Pendyala, V. S., Siebert, V. R., Himmel, B. A., Wigant, R. R., Knepp, M. D., Orcutt J. W., Mungee, S., Chan, D. P. & Baman, T. S. (2018). Disparities regarding inadequate automated external defibrillator training and potential barriers to successful cardiac resuscitation in public school systems. The American Journal of Cardiology, 122(9), 1565-1569. Web.

The New York State Senate (n.d.). Web.