HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3332        FILED ON: 1/14/2009

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 3662

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Nine

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AN ACT REQUIRING DEFIBRILLATORS IN SENIOR HOUSING FACILITIES IN THE CITY OF QUINCY..

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  Section 8B of chapter 40 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2004 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting before the definition of “Buyer” the following definition:-

"AED”, an automatic external defibrillator medical device approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration that: (i) is capable of recognizing the presence or absence of ventricular fibrillation and rapid ventricular tachycardia in a patient; (ii)  is capable of determining, without intervention by an operator, whether defibrillation should be performed on the patient; (iii) upon determining that defibrillation should be performed, automatically charges and requests delivery of an electrical impulse to the patient’s heart; and (iv) then, upon action by an operator, delivers an appropriate electrical impulse to the patient’s heart to perform defibrillation.

SECTION 2. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 57D the following section:—

Section 57E. All public and private senior housing facilities with an occupancy of 30 or more persons shall have on the premises at least 1 AED. Prior to the installation of an AED, training by volunteer AED provider as defined in section 12V½ of chapter 112, must be provided to a set group of residents or employees, not less than 12 individuals, who reside or work in the building.   The provisions of said section 12V½ of said chapter 112 shall be applicable to any action under this section.

SECTION 3.  Chapter 112 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 12V, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 12V.  Any person, unless the usual and regular duties of such person include providing emergency medical care, who in good faith and without compensation renders emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation or defibrillation, to any person who apparently requires cardiopulmonary resuscitation or defibrillation, shall not be liable for acts or omissions, other than gross negligence or willful or wanton misconduct, resulting from the rendering of such emergency cardiopulmonary resuscitation or defibrillation.