Senate Bill S3044

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S3044

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the public health law, in relation to the possession
of external defibrillators(AED)

 PURPOSE :
To allow emergency medical technicians to carry an AED in their
personal vehicles at the request of the emergency medical service
provider and to ensure that they be equipped to act as an emergency
first responder to cardiac emergencies.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Section 1 amends subparagraph (a) of paragraph (3) section 3000-b of
the public health law to add "possession or" to expand the freedom of
licensed medical providers to carry and use an AED.

 EXISTING LAW :
Under current law there is no exception for an EMT to posses and use
an AED while off duty without being licensed as an public access
defibrillator provider through the establishment of a collaborative
agreement as outlined by public health law paragraph (2) section
3000-b.

 JUSTIFICATION :
Under the current law an emergency medical service provider cannot
              

equip off duty emergency medical technicians with an AED without
establishing the technician as a public access defibrillator provider.
The current requirements have greatly undermined the ability for these
individuals to act as efficiently equipped emergency first responders
whom are especially important in rural New York. With cardiovascular
disease as a top natural killer of adults, it is imperative that our
emergency medical technicians can act as effective first responders
for such sensitive crises. In the event of a heart attack or similar
cardiovascular emergency the period of time that an individual has to
receive treatment before catastrophic damage or even death is
incredibly short. Hence, it is of the utmost importance that medical
treatment is administered expediently and in many cases an individual
first responder can arrive on a scene before anyone else. It logically
follows that an emergency medical technician that acts as a first
responder while off duty should be equipped with an AED and allowed to
carry the AED in their private vehicles.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
S.3027 of 2008

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
Immediately.