[Adopted 8-9-2005 by L.L. No. 21-2005 (Ch. 260, Art. IV,
of the 1985 Code)]
A.Â
This Legislature hereby finds and determines that each year in the
United States more than 340,000 people succumb to sudden cardiac arrest.
B.Â
This Legislature also finds and determines that defibrillators are
commonly becoming a lifesaving device used in public places.
C.Â
This Legislature further finds and determines that a broader deployment
of defibrillators among trained responders could result in the prevention
of as many as 50,000 deaths due to sudden cardiac arrest each year.
D.Â
This Legislature finds that the County of Suffolk has been a leader
in protecting the health of its residents by requiring the installation
of defibrillators in all health clubs throughout the County.
E.Â
This Legislature finds that the City of New York has enacted legislation
that will require the installation of defibrillators in all nursing
homes throughout the city.
F.Â
This Legislature also finds that many nursing homes in Suffolk County
have already installed defibrillators, which have been effective in
saving the lives of several of the individuals in their care.
G.Â
This Legislature further finds that the installation of defibrillators
in all nursing homes throughout Suffolk County will result in many
lives being saved each year by preventing deaths due to sudden cardiac
arrest.
H.Â
Therefore, the purpose of this article is to require the availability
of an automated external defibrillator in each and every nursing home
in Suffolk County.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A medical device, approved by the United States Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), that:
Is capable of recognizing the presence or absence, in a patient,
of ventricular fibrillation and rapid ventricular tachycardia;
Is capable of determining, without intervention by an operator,
whether defibrillation should be performed on a patient;
Upon determining that defibrillation should be performed, automatically
charges and requests delivery of an electrical impulse to the patient's
heart; and
Upon action by an operator, delivers an appropriate electrical
impulse to the patient's heart to perform defibrillation.
Service in a facility or facilities which provide or offer
lodging, board and physical care, including, but not limited to, the
recording of health information, dietary supervision and supervised
hygienic services incident to such service.
A facility providing therein nursing care to sick, invalid,
infirm, disabled or convalescent persons in addition to lodging and
board or health-related service, or any combination of the foregoing,
and in addition thereto, providing nursing care and health-related
service, or either of them, to persons who are not occupants of the
facility.
A nursing home or a facility providing health-related service.
A.Â
Every nursing home and residential health-care facility in Suffolk
County shall provide and maintain in good working order on site, in
each facility, at least one automated external defibrillator (AED)
as defined herein.
B.Â
At all hours there shall be at least one staff person who is trained,
pursuant to the New York State Public Health Law § 3000-b(3)(a),
in the operation and use of an AED.
This article shall be enforced by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services in accordance with the provisions of Article II of the Suffolk County Sanitary Code.
Willful failure to comply with § 400-24 of this article shall constitute a violation punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 for each violation.
The Commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health
Services is hereby authorized and empowered to issue and promulgate
such rules and regulations as he or she deems necessary to implement
and carry out the provisions of this article.
This article shall apply to all nursing homes and residential
health care facilities within Suffolk County subsequent to the effective
date of this article.
This article shall be null and void on the day that statewide
or federal legislation goes into effect, incorporating either the
same or substantially similar provisions as are contained in this
article, or in the event that a pertinent state or federal administrative
agency issues and promulgates regulations preempting such action by
the County of Suffolk. The County Legislature may determine via mere
resolution whether or not identical or substantially similar statewide
legislation has been enacted of the purposes of triggering the provisions
of this section.
