On Christmas Eve, President Joe Biden signed the HEARTS Act into law. The legislation, introduced by Senator Charles Schumer on the Senate floor earlier this month, will provide direct grants to elementary and secondary schools. The bill also creates a grant program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support CPR and automated external defibrillator (AED) training, in addition to supporting the purchase of AEDs and the development of cardiac emergency response plans, which can more than double survival rates from cardiac arrest by empowering people nearby to dial 911, start CPR and use an AED.
Schumer and Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin worked together on the bill. When Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during an NFL game in January 2023, the Bills medical team used an AED and performed CPR, saving Hamlin’s life. Since then Hamlin has used his recovery story to help kids across the country, working with Schumer to create the new federal program that will help put more AEDs in schools.
“Damar and I formed the perfect team, bringing together teachers, health care leaders, and athletes to make sure every student has access to the kind of life-saving care he did,” said Sen. Schumer. “This legislation goes beyond the field and its impacts will stretch thousands of miles outside Buffalo to help millions of kids.”
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