New York Public Health Law requires Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to be available in places of public assembly such as sports stadiums and gyms. Louis’s Law, a Public Health Law passed in 2002, requires all public and charter schools to have AEDs on campus, as well as have their staff trained to use the AED. The law was adopted in response to the tragic passing of Louis Acompora, a fourteen-year-old who went into sudden cardiac arrest after being struck in the chest with a ball during his first high school lacrosse game. In May of 2024, New York State law was passed that has expanded the requirement of AEDs to be available in extracurricular youth activities, such as camps and youth sports programs. These requirements must be completed by November 2024. Below is a discussion of the latest New York State law, as well as the impact it will have on after-school activities.
Expanding New York’s Public Health Law to require AEDs to be available during certain recreational activities came in response to the death of ten-year old Lazar LaPenna, who died of cardiac arrest while playing in a Little League baseball game in a Point Lookout Park, with no AED on site. Cardiac arrest can result from trauma to the chest, near-drowning incidents, heat stroke, asthma, and other medical conditions. During an episode of cardiac arrest, an AED can analyze an individual’s heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock to restore the heart to its normal pace. Having an AED reasonably within reach can make a significant difference in a life-saving emergency.
Summer day camps, overnight camps, and youth sports programs organized to provide group athletic activities to individuals under seventeen years old must establish an AED implementation plan. The plan should outline how the AED will be made available or accessible during camp times, games, or practices. There should also be one employee, volunteer, coach, or other qualified adult present at each camp, game or practice who has completed a training course on how to operate an AED.
Our Firm can assist camps and youth sports programs in drafting their AED plans to establish compliance with the latest New York State law. This measure is an important proactive step towards safeguarding the health and well-being of young participants in summer activities, as well as the adults supervising and training them.