[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town Board of the Town of Greenburgh 12-14-2005
by L.L. No. 5-2005. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Town Board finds and declares that:
A.Â
Sudden cardiac arrest claims nearly 350,000 lives per
year in the United States. Sudden cardiac arrest is caused by a cardiac arrhythmia
known as "ventricular fibrillation."
B.Â
The only effective emergency treatment for ventricular
fibrillation is defibrillation. Defibrillation involves the delivery of an
electrical pulse to the heart using a medical device known as a "defibrillator."
C.Â
The survival rate for sudden cardiac arrest is less than
5%, in part because of the lack of immediate lifesaving medical equipment,
like defibrillators, on site. Survival rates can exceed 90% if defibrillation
occurs in the first one to two minutes after the cardiac arrest.
D.Â
Automated external defibrillators are medical devices
which have been shown to dramatically improve survival rates for sudden cardiac
arrest when they are readily available and used promptly at the scene of a
cardiac arrest.
E.Â
The Town has voluntarily provided automated external
defibrillators in all Town buildings which provide meals or other on-site
activities geared specifically to those age 55 and over to reduce the time
in which defibrillation occurs and to improve the cardiac arrest survival
rate.
F.Â
The public health, safety and welfare of Town residents
will be best served by requiring the placement and regulation of automated
external defibrillators in the Town Library, the Town Hall, the Town Court,
senior housing facilities, senior day-care centers, and Town buildings which
provide meals or other on-site activities geared specifically to those age
55 and over, including, but not limited to, the multipurpose center and Theodore
D. Young Community Center. By minimizing the time between the onset of cardiac
arrest and defibrillation, deaths due to sudden cardiac arrest can be prevented.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings
indicated:
A medical device, as defined in Article 30 of the New York State
Public Health Law, approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration,
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 the patient; upon determining that defibrillation should be
performed, automatically charges and requests delivery of an electrical impulse
to the patient's heart; and then, upon action by an operator, delivers
an appropriate electrical impulse to the patient's heart to perform defibrillation.
A person, firm, organization or other entity may purchase, acquire,
possess and operate an automated external defibrillator pursuant to a collaborative
agreement with an emergency health care provider. The collaborative agreement
shall include a written agreement and written practice protocols, and policies
and procedures that shall assure compliance with § 3000 of the Public
Health Law. The public access defibrillation provider shall file a copy of
the collaborative agreement with the Department of Health of the State of
New York and with the appropriate regional council prior to operating the
automated external defibrillator.
A physician with knowledge and experience in the delivery of emergency
cardiac care or a hospital that provides emergency cardiac care.
A national organization approved by the Department of Health of the
State of New York for the purpose of training people in the use of an automated
external defibrillator.
A person, firm, organization or other entity possessing or operating
an automated external defibrillator pursuant to a collaborative agreement.
The Westchester Regional Emergency Medical Services Council, also
known as "the Westchester Regional EMS Council."
A facility licensed or authorized and regulated by the State of New
York Department of Social Services, Department of Health or other state agency
having jurisdiction where care is specifically geared to those age 55 years
and over for three or more persons, away from their own homes for less than
24 hours per day in a facility which is operated for such purposes, for more
than five hours per week. The term "senior day-care center" shall include,
without limitation, qualifying facilities that provide adult day health care.
Residential care facilities geared specifically to those age 55 years
and over, which include lifestyle amenities and support services or staffing
to address the needs of aging residents, including health-related services.
Unless otherwise preempted by state law, the following entities shall
provide and maintain on site in each such facility or center an automated
external defibrillator in good working order and be public access defibrillation
providers in accordance with New York State Public Health Law § 3000-B
and this chapter:
Those entities which are public access defibrillation providers pursuant to § 320-3 shall provide a posted sign, in a conspicuous location, indicating the availability of an automated external defibrillator for emergency use and shall comply with the standards set forth in New York State Public Health Law § 3000-B and this chapter, including, but not limited to, the following:
A.Â
During normal business hours, there shall be at least
one staff person who has successfully completed a training course in the operation
of an automated external defibrillator approved by a nationally recognized
organization or the State Emergency Medical Services Council, or is a health
care practitioner licensed or certified under Title VIII of the Education
Law, or is a person certified under the Public Health Law acting within his
or her lawful scope of practice, or is a person acting pursuant to a lawful
prescription.
B.Â
The public access defibrillation provider shall cause
the automated external defibrillator to be maintained and tested according
to applicable standards of the manufacturer and any appropriate government
agency.
C.Â
The public access defibrillation provider shall notify
the regional council of the existence, location and type of any automated
external defibrillator it possesses.
D.Â
Every use of an automated external defibrillator on a
patient shall be immediately reported to the appropriate local emergency medical
services system, emergency communications center or emergency vehicle dispatch
center as appropriate and be promptly reported to the emergency health care
provider.
Any person, firm, organization or entity who, in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter, voluntarily and without expectation of monetary
compensation, renders emergency medical or first aid treatment using an automated
external defibrillator, which has been made available pursuant to this chapter,
to a person who is unconscious, ill or injured, and any person, firm, organization
or entity that purchases or makes available an automated external defibrillator,
as required by this chapter, shall be entitled to the limitation of liability
provided in § 3000-A of the New York State Public Health Law.
A.Â
Nothing contained in this chapter shall impose any duty
or obligation on the Town or any employee or operator to provide assistance
with an automated external defibrillator to a victim of a medical emergency
on any property owned or leased by the Town.
B.Â
The Chief of Police shall promulgate such rules as may
be necessary for the purpose of implementing the provisions of this chapter,
including but not limited to rules regarding the location of automated external
defibrillators, any information regarding the use and/or maintenance of the
automated external defibrillator that must accompany each automated external
defibrillator and required training in the use of the automated external defibrillator.
The Building Inspector of the Town or his or her designee or any other
official of the Town shall be permitted to inspect regulated premises during
business hours to ensure compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
Any person, firm, organization or entity, governed by this chapter,
who fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of
a violation and subject to a fine of $250 for the first violation and $500
for each and every subsequent violation.
