About two years after suffering a cardiac arrest during Monday Night Football, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is celebrating a win off the field.
President Joe Biden signed the “HEARTS Act” into law on Tuesday.
The act directs the secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to public schools for establishing or bolstering comprehensive AED programs on their campuses in consultation with “a qualified healthcare entity.” The money could be spent on training staff and students alike on how to use the devices and could go toward buying new AEDs or replacing old ones.
It could even help athletic departments screen student-athletes for their risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
RELATED STORY | Scripps News school AED probe gets attention in Congress
Hamlin, who returned to play after his health scare in January 2023, advocated for the bill, which will help put automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, in schools and improve access to CPR training around the country. AED devices can cost less than $1,000 apiece, but after reviewing laws nationwide, Scripps News found 31 states did not have laws requiring AEDs to be in schools at the time of Hamlin's incident.
The House passed the bill back in September. The Senate passed it on December 10. Hamlin told ESPN he wanted to leave a legacy on the field but also have meaning and purpose off the field.
"It's super dope, man. Shoutout to Senator (Chuck) Schumer. Shoutout to the Smart Hearts Coalition. Shoutout to the American Heart Association and to my Chasing M's foundation," Hamlin told ESPN when the Senate passed the bill. "We all came together to make some legacy off the field. I always wanted to, in my life, leave a legacy on the field, but to have a legacy and have meaning and purpose off the field."
RELATED STORY | An AED saved Damar Hamlin's life, but is your child's school ready?
