Policy Resolution HHS-19-29

WHEREAS, the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) recognizes that our constituents face a growing burden of cardiovascular disease which may cause cardiac arrest;

WHEREAS, each year more than 350,000 sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) events occur in the United States in an out-of-hospital environment;

WHEREAS, blacks are more likely to experience sudden cardiac arrest, and at a much younger age, than whites;

WHEREAS, bystander CPR is performed in less than half of all cardiac arrests, leading to survival rates that vary by as much as 500% regionally in the United States;

WHEREAS, for every minute without CPR, chances of survival drop by 10%;

WHEREAS, bystander CPR for witnessed out of hospital cardiac arrest is believed to strongly influence survival to hospital discharge;

WHEREAS, people who live in African-American, Hispanic, and lower-income neighborhoods are more likely than others to die from a cardiac arrest, and African-Americans and Hispanic cardiac arrest victims are also 30% less likely to have someone stop and perform CPR;

WHEREAS, currently only three percent of 9-1-1 medical responders provide compression-only CPR instructions, but telephone CPR (T-CPR) is associated with a 32% increase in survival to hospital discharge;

WHEREAS, T-CPR is the delivery by trained 911 telecommunications professionals of high-quality CPR instruction for acute events requiring CPR, including but not limited to, out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA); and

WHEREAS, T-CPR will strengthen the chain of survival and give professional responders a better chance of success when they arrive on the scene of a cardiac arrest.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Black Caucus of State Legislators (NBCSL) recognizes that Telephone CPR saves lives from cardiac arrest and should be a standard of care for every emergency dispatch center in the United States;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL recommends supporting state and local policies that require training for 911 dispatchers to be trained in providing telephone CPR;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NBCSL urges states and communities to pass legislation that requires all 911 telecommunications professionals that provide dispatch for emergency medical conditions be trained in the delivery of high-quality telephone CPR; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NBCSL send a copy of this resolution to the President of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, members of Congress, and other federal and state government officials as appropriate.

• SPONSOR: Senator Troy Carter (LA)
• Committee of Jurisdiction: Health and Human Services Policy Committee
• Certified by Committee Chair(s): Representative John King (SC) and Representative Toni Rose (TX)
• Ratified in Plenary Session: Ratification Date is November 30, 2018
• Ratification is certified by: Representative Gregory W. Porter (IN), President