New Ohio law mandates defibrillators in schools and sports venues after Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest

A new Ohio law will require automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs, to be placed in nearly every school or sports and recreation venue in the state, a change prompted by the sudden cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin during a Monday Night Football game in Cincinnati last year.

Hamlin praised the proposal’s backers, the state Legislature and Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who signed the bill Tuesday, for saving lives.

“I’ll always consider Ohio my second home, and I’m delighted that this new law makes the places around the state where young people learn, play, and compete safer, more resilient, and better prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency,” he said in a statement. “This is a big win for young people throughout Ohio.”

The new law will require that all public schools, municipally-owned sports and recreation locations such as gymnasiums and swimming pools, as well as some private schools, have on-site AEDs. Previous Ohio law allowed school districts to require AEDs on site, but made it an elective decision left to individual districts.

Hamlin, a McKees Rocks native who played for Central Catholic High School and the University of Pittsburgh, went into cardiac arrest, fell flat and had to be resuscitated on the field after making what appeared to be a routine tackle during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals that was being broadcast to a national prime-time audience in January 2023. After Hamlin’s cardiac arrest, he was cared for at the UC Medical Center. 

The law prompted by his episode additionally requires employees to undergo special training on how to use AEDs and recognize the signs of cardiac arrest. Informational sessions for students on sudden cardiac arrest would be required before the start of any athletic season.

Under the law, the Ohio Department of Health must develop a model emergency action plan for schools, centers and sports groups to adopt on the use of AEDs.

Since Hamlin’s recovery, he has used his Chasing M’s Foundation to get as many people CPR and AED certified as they can.