text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 
  1999''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
  
      The Congress finds as follows:
              (1) Each year more than 250,000 adults suffer cardiac 
          arrest, usually away from a hospital. More than 95 percent of 
          them will die, in many cases because cardiopulmonary 
          resuscitation (``CPR''), defibrillation, and advanced life 
          support are provided too late to reverse the cardiac arrest. 
          These cardiac arrests occur primarily from occult underlying 
          heart disease and from drowning, allergic or sensitivity 
          reactions, or electrical shocks.
              (2) Every minute that passes before returning the heart to 
          a normal rhythm after a cardiac arrest causes the chance of 
          survival to fall by 10 percent.
              (3) In communities where strong public access to 
          defibrillation programs have been implemented, survival from 
          cardiac arrest has improved by as much as 20 percent.
              (4) Survival from cardiac arrest requires successful early 
          implementation of a chain of events, known as the chain of 
          survival, which must be initiated as soon as the person 
          sustains a cardiac arrest and must continue until the person 
          arrives at the hospital.
              (5) The chain of survival is the medical standard of care 
          for treatment of cardiac arrest.
              (6) A successful chain of survival requires the first 
          person on the scene to take rapid and simple initial steps to 
          care for the patient and to assure that the patient promptly 
          enters the emergency medical services system. These steps 
          include--
                      (A) recognizing an emergency and activating the 
                  emergency medical services system;
                      (B) beginning CPR; and
                      (C) using an automated external defibrillator 
                  (``AED'') if one is available at the scene.
              (7) The first persons at the scene of an arrest are 
          typically lay persons who are friends or family of the victim, 
          fire services, public safety personnel, basic life support 
          emergency medical services providers, teachers, coaches and 
          supervisors of sports or other extracurricular activities, 
          providers of day care, school bus drivers, lifeguards, 
          attendants at public gatherings, coworkers, and other leaders 
          within the community.
              (8) The Federal Government should facilitate programs for 
          the placement of AEDs in public buildings, including provisions 
          regarding the training of personnel in CPR and AED use, 
          integration with the emergency medical services system, and 
          maintenance of the devices.
  
  SEC. 3. RECOMMENDATIONS OF SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 
                REGARDING PLACEMENT OF AUTOMATIC EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS 
                IN BUILDINGS.
  
      Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 238 
  et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following section:
  
        ``recommendations regarding placement of automated external 
                        defibrillators in buildings
  
      ``Sec. 247. (a) Recommendation for Federal Buildings.--
              ``(1) In General.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
          the enactment of the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 1999, the 
          Secretary shall assist in providing for an improvement in the 
          survival rates of individuals who experience cardiac arrest in 
          Federal buildings by publishing in the Federal Register for 
          public comment the recommendations of the Secretary with 
          respect to placing automatic external defibrillators in such 
          buildings. The Secretary shall in addition assist Federal 
          agencies in implementing programs for such placement.
              ``(2) Agency assessments.--Not later than 180 days after 
          the date on which the recommendations are published under 
          paragraph (1), the head of each Federal agency that occupies a 
          Federal building that meets the criteria described in 
          subsection (a)(1) shall submit to the Secretary an assessment 
          of the ability of each such agency to meet the goals described 
          in subsection (c).
      ``(b) Additional Recommendations.--The Secretary shall publish, as 
  part of the recommendations referred to in subsection (a), 
  recommendations with respect to the placement of automatic external 
  defibrillators in buildings and facilities, or other appropriate 
  venues, frequented by the public (other than the buildings referred to 
  in subsection (a)). Such recommendations shall only be for information 
  purposes for States and localities to consider in determining policy 
  regarding the use or placement of such defibrillators in recommended 
  buildings, facilities or venues.
      ``(c) Consideration of Certain Goals for Survival Rates.--In 
  carrying out this section, the Secretary shall consider the goals 
  established by national public-health organizations for improving the 
  survival rates of individuals who experience cardiac arrest in 
  nonhospital settings, including goals for minimizing the time elapsing 
  between the onset of cardiac arrest and the initial medical response.
      ``(d) Certain Procedures.--The matters addressed by the Secretary 
  in the recommendations under subsections (a) and (b) shall include the 
  following:
              ``(1) Procedures for implementing appropriate nationally 
          recognized training courses in performing cardiopulmonary 
          resuscitation and the use of automatic external defibrillators.
              ``(2) Procedures for proper maintenance and testing of such 
          devices, according to the guidelines of the manufacturer of the 
          devices.
              ``(3) Procedures for ensuring direct involvement of a 
          licensed medical professional and coordination with local 
          emergency medical services in the oversight of training and 
          notification of incidents of the use of the devices.
              ``(4) Procedures for ensuring notification of an agent of 
          the local emergency medical system dispatch center of the 
          location and type of device.
      ``(e) Certain Criteria.--In making recommendations under 
  subsections (a) and (b), the Secretary shall determine the following:
              ``(1) Criteria for selecting the public buildings, 
          facilities and other venues in which automatic external 
          defibrillators should be placed, taking into account--
                      ``(A) the typical number of employees and visitors 
                  in the buildings, facilities or venues;
                      ``(B) the extent of the need for security measures 
                  regarding the buildings, facilities or venues;
                      ``(C) buildings, facilities or other venues, or 
                  portions thereof, in which there are special 
                  circumstances such as high electrical voltage or 
                  extreme heat or cold; and
                      ``(D) such other factors as the Secretary 
                  determines to be appropriate.
              ``(2) Criteria regarding the maintenance of such devices 
          (consistent with the labeling for the devices).
              ``(3) Criteria for coordinating the use of the devices in 
          public buildings, facilities or other venues with providers of 
          emergency medical services for the geographic areas in which 
          the buildings, facilities or venues are located.''.
  
  SEC. 4. IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY FOR EMERGENCY USE OF AUTOMATED 
                EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATORS.
  
      Part B of title II of the Public Health Service Act, as amended by 
  section 3 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following 
  section:
  
         ``liability regarding emergency use of automated external 
                               defibrillators
  
      ``Sec. 248. (a) Persons Using AEDs.--Any person who provides 
  emergency medical care through the use of an automated external 
  defibrillator is immune from civil liability for any personal injury or 
  wrongful death resulting from the provision of such care, except as 
  provided in subsection (c).
      ``(b) Other Persons Involved With AEDs; Special Rules for 
  Acquirers.--
              ``(1) In general.--With respect to a personal injury or 
          wrongful death to which subsection (a) applies, in addition to 
          the person who provided emergency medical care through the use 
          of the automated external defibrillator, the person described 
          in paragraph (2) is with respect to the device immune from 
          civil liability for the personal injury or wrongful death in 
          accordance with such paragraph, except as provided in 
          subsection (c).
              ``(2) Person described.--A person described in this 
          paragraph is the person who acquired the device for use at a 
          nonmedical facility (in this paragraph referred to as the 
          `acquirer'). Such person shall be immune from liability as 
          provided for in paragraph (1) if the following conditions are 
          met:
                      ``(A) The condition that the acquirer notified 
                  local emergency response personnel of the most recent 
                  placement of the device within a reasonable period of 
                  time after the device was placed.
                      ``(B) The condition that, as of the date on which 
                  the emergency occurred, the device had been maintained 
                  and tested in accordance with the guidelines 
                  established for the device by the manufacturer of the 
                  device.
                      ``(C) In any case in which the person who provided 
                  the emergency medical care through the use of the 
                  device was an employee or agent of the acquirer, and 
                  the employee or agent was within the class of persons 
                  the acquirer expected would use the device in the event 
                  of a relevant emergency, the condition that the 
                  employee or agent received reasonable instruction in 
                  the use of such devices through a course approved by 
                  the Secretary or by the chief public health officer of 
                  any of the States.
      ``(c) Inapplicability of Immunity.--Immunity under subsections (a) 
  and (b) does not apply to a person if--
              ``(1) the person engaged in gross negligence or willful or 
          wanton misconduct in the circumstances described in such 
          subsections that apply to the person with respect to automated 
          external defibrillators; or
              ``(2) the person was a licensed or certified medical 
          professional who was using the automated external defibrillator 
          while acting within the scope of their license or 
          certification, and within the scope of their employment as a 
          medical professional.
      ``(d) Rules of Construction.--
              ``(1) In general.--The following applies with respect to 
          this section:
                      ``(A) This section is not applicable in any State 
                  that (before, on, or after the date of the enactment of 
                  the Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 1999) provides 
                  through statute or regulations any degree of immunity 
                  for any class of persons for civil liability for 
                  personal injury or wrongful death arising from the 
                  provision of emergency medical care through the use of 
                  an automated external defibrillator.
                      ``(B) This section does not waive any protection 
                  from liability for Federal officers or employees 
                  under--
                              ``(i) section 224; or
                              ``(ii) sections 1346(b), 2672 and 2679 of 
                          title 28, United States Code, or under 
                          alternative benefits provided by the United 
                          States where the availability of such benefits 
                          precludes a remedy under section 1346(b) of 
                          title 28.
                      ``(C) This section does not require that an 
                  automated external defibrillator be placed at any 
                  building or other location.
              ``(2) Civil actions under federal law.--
                      ``(A) In general.--The applicability of subsections 
                  (a) through (c) includes applicability to any action 
                  for civil liability described in subsection (a) that 
                  arises under Federal law.
                      ``(B) Federal areas adopting state law.--If a 
                  geographic area is under Federal jurisdiction and is 
                  located within a State but out of the jurisdiction of 
                  the State, and if, pursuant to Federal law, the law of 
                  the State applies in such area regarding matters for 
                  which there is no applicable Federal law, then an 
                  action for civil liability described in subsection (a) 
                  that in such area arises under the law of the State is 
                  subject to subsections (a) through (c) in lieu of any 
                  related State law that would apply in such area in the 
                  absence of this subparagraph.''.
  
              Passed the Senate November 19, 1999.
  
              Attest:
  
                                                      GARY SISCO,
  
                                                               Secretary.
target: Requires the Secretary to determine criteria for: (1) the selection of the Federal public buildings in which defibrillators should be placed; (2) defibrillator maintenance; and (3) the coordination of the use of the defibrillators in public buildings, facilities, or other venues with emergency medical services providers for the geographic areas in which the buildings are located.
  Provides that any person who provides emergency medical care through the use of a defibrillator, and the person who acquired the device (if specified conditions have been met) are immune from civil liability for any personal injury or wrongful death resulting from the provision of such care, unless the person engaged in gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct under the applicable circumstances, or the person was a licensed or certified medical professional who was using the defibrillator while acting within the scope of employment as a medical professional.
feat_title: Cardiac Arrest Survival Act of 1999