WESTFIELD—A local foundation may finally see their efforts turned into law this week.
Gov. Charlie Baker is expected to sign a bill into law this week that would require all schools to have automated external defibrillators (AEDs) on site. Last week, the bill was passed by both of the state’s house and senate. The bill has been sponsored and pushed by the KEVS Foundation, a Westfield-based nonprofit organization that has pushed to try and prevent sudden cardiac arrest through education, prevention and screening, along with the American Heart Association (AHA) and local politicians.
Susan Canning, who started the KEVS Foundation following her son Kevin Major’s death, said that the work that she and the many others have done on the legislation and in the Foundation is for those that may not know that they could one day be affected by undiagnosed cardiac conditions.
“It’s the families that we can save that we thought about,” Canning said. “We’ll never know how many lives we’ll save but it’s what we have to do.”
Photo of Kevin Major, from KEVS Foundation.
Canning started the Foundation in 2012 after Major, 19, passed away from an undiagnosed cardiac condition that resulted in sudden cardiac arrest. Major suffered from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is a thickening of the heart’s walls due to enlarged muscle cells. The condition causes certain portions of the heart to have difficulty circulating blood and can lead to sudden cardiac arrest. This occurred to Major in July 2011, when he suffered the fatal event while swimming with friends.
Canning said that she worked with several families and others on the bill, which is what made it happen.
“What pushed this over the top was four strong families working together,” she said. “We did it in memory of our sons but also did it so others don’t have to live the nightmare we lived.”
One of the families were the Ellsessars, who lost two sons to sudden cardiac arrest. According to Canning, the Ellsessars lost their son Michael, 16, in November 2010, when he was hit in the chest while playing football, which caused commotio cordis, a cardiac condition where the body’s cardiac rhythm is disrupted with a hit to the chest, often resulting in cardiac arrest.
The Ellsessar’s other son Timothy, 18, died in July 2015, when he suffered from the same cardiac condition as his brother, and died while swimming with his oldest brother, Pat.
Together, along with the AHA, local doctors and politicians, created the bill known as “Bill S.2449.” Canning said it was revamped several times over the past 16 months, before finally reaching the Massachusetts legislatures, where both the state house and senate passed it on Jan. 3.
The bill will mandate that all schools in Massachusetts will need to provide at least one AED in each facility. Additionally, there must be a certain number of people certified in AED use—the number will be determined at a later date—and all school-sponsored events will have at least one AED and one provider present at all times.
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, who worked on similar legislation during her years as a member of the state House, said that the bill builds on the one she worked on, and will pass barring no flaws are found.
“We will review the bill and if all goes well we will pass the bill,” she said. “Defibrillators are proven to save lives and are relatively simple equipment.”
Canning hopes that this bill will help save lives, but also hopes that it starts a conversation within families about sudden cardiac events. She urges everyone to be screened for cardiac conditions, and KEVS Foundation offers screenings free-of-charge each year. Visit kevsfoundation.com for more information, including how to donate or how to help.
