JANICE EATON, LAUREL BORGIA, MARIANNE KOLLASCH AND DONNA MARCHETTI
GEORGE LAMAN SPOKE AT GATEWAY WOMEN’S CLUB ABOUT LIFESAVING CPR AND AED BILLS USAGE IN SCHOOLS
STEPHANIE MENA
What started out as a typical day in the life of a healthy, active, 18-year-old high school student, ended in sudden death. Lauren was at her regular drill team practice when she suffered from sudden cardiac arrest – a preventable death. Her life could have been saved with the proper use of an AED unit. Automated External Defibrillators are small portable medical devices that analyze a person’s heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock to restore a normal heartbeat. Coupled with CPR efforts, this unit literally talks the user through the steps to follow. No medical training or license is required. The results are lifesaving. The cost of the units is manageable.
George Laman is a retired firefighter, paramedic, and heart transplant survivor who lost his daughter in high school because no one knew how to use an AED. In 2014 he worked to pass Lauren’s Law in Illinois, requiring high schools to train students in CPR and the use of an AED. Passing Lauren Laman Law in Illinois has resulted in numerous lives saved at school, home and in public places. Now he is working on passing a law in Florida requiring 9th and 11th graders to take CPR training and learn how to use an AED.
Laman is the author of A Father’s Promise: Love, Loss and the Power to Change, available in bookstores everywhere. He served in the U.S. Navy and spent 40 years with the fire service in Schaumburg, Illinois as a fire lieutenant, paramedic, and fire plan examiner. Now as a full-time Florida resident he is focused on passing Senate Bill 104 Cardiac Emergencies and House Bill 337 Cardiac Emergencies on School Grounds. These bills will require CPR and AED equipment training in Florida schools. They save lives.
Cardiac episodes can happen to anyone. Time is essential. With proper equipment and training, students can take immediate action. When the paramedics arrive, they are able take the next medical step. House Bill 337 Cardiac Emergencies on School Grounds and Senate Bill 104 Cardiac Emergencies will require CPR and AED equipment and training in Florida high schools.
Laman encourages every voter to contact their representative and ask for support on these bills. In the House of Representatives, the bill is HB 337 – Cardiac Emergencies on School Grounds. The contact person is Representative Debbie Mayfield (R) District 32. Phone (850) 717-5032 or e-mail: [email protected].
In the Senate, the bill is SB 430 – Cardiac Emergencies. The contact person is Senator Corey Simon (R) District 3. Phone (850) 487-5003 or e-mail: [email protected].
At the end of the GWC meeting, Laman supervised hands-on training showing how to add ICE (In case of Emergency) notifications to iPhone or Android phones.
