I am truly at a lack of where to start about this incredible opportunity. It’s proving to me more and more that God’s timing is perfect.
Back in February, I was contacted by Utah’s local chapter of the American Heart Association (AHA) to apply for the Heart on the Hill Fly-In Event in Washington D.C. I knew it would give me an opportunity to promote and advocate for The Red Heart Project but didn’t know what else to expect. I was accepted as an advocate and given the full scholarship to travel to Washington D.C alongside over 200 other participants from 40 different states across America.
This week I went to our nation's Capitol Hill to talk to Utah Senators and Representatives about the HEARTS Act and #AccessToAEDs Act. Both acts work to expand CPR education and preparedness across America by providing grants to purchase and maintain Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), ensuring an AED can be reached and returned to a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) patient within 3 minutes, implementing Cardiac Emergency Response Plans (CERPs), and providing training and drills to everyone including students in all K-12 schools.
I heard many inspiring and personal stories this week about when lives were saved through hands only CPR and use of an AED. Each story was so unique with many different endings. Several happy endings with survivors but also many with more tragic endings due to lack of education and preparation in CPR. Unfortunately only 10% of people who experience an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest (OHSCA) survive. It is rare to come by these survivors but when we do, their stories speak loudly. In schools where an AED is available and used, survival rates jump to 70%. This is why we need the HEARTS Acts and Access to AEDs Act passed in our legislature.
Currently in the state of Utah schools are not required to have an AED on campus and CPR education is sparse and inadequate among teachers and students. We may not think it is necessary to be prepared for a cardiac emergency in a place where predominantly young and healthy people are, but every single year in the United States 23,000 children experience an OHSCA.
Passing these acts does not only benefit the children who attend these schools, it benefits everyone. Schools are a hub for public events. In fact, I was crowned as Miss American Fork in the junior high school right next to my house. Imagine if one of my loved ones at that event had needed CPR and an AED.
When I began The Red Heart Project over 2 years ago, I could have never imagined it would have brought me this far. When I started out I felt like my reach was small and it would be difficult to make an impact. At first it was hard but the growth my nonprofit has seen is unbelievable. I never thought it would be possible for me to become a CPR instructor for the AHA and I most certainly never saw myself lobbying at the Utah State Capitol let alone the nation's Capitol.
Talking with legislators has given me hope. Not only hope for these acts to be passed but hope for a better future and turning a nation of bystanders into a nation of lifesavers. We continue to hear more and more stories of those affected by these issues every day and I know we can turn a happy ending into the standard and not the exception.
More about the HEARTS Act below!
More about the #AccessToAEDs Act below!
If you are interested in helping to pass the HEARTS Act and #AccessToAEDs Act fill out the form below!
If you are interested in donating the American Heart Association donate below!
Together we will pass the HEARTS Act and #AccessToAEDs Act. Together will we save lives.
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