Bill requiring CPR training for emergency medical dispatchers heads to House floor

A plan ensuring 9-1-1 dispatchers know how to properly teach people to perform CPR over the phone is one step closer to becoming law.

Sponsors and advocates said instructions and guidance from dispatchers could mean the difference between life and death.

Experts have told lawmakers in the House and Senate that the barrier to entry for effective T-CPR is incredibly low and the training requires minimal investment compared to long term healthcare savings and life saves.

"When CPR begins prior to arrival of emergency medical service, the person in cardiac arrest has a two to three fold higher likelihood of survival," said Rep. Lisa Davis (D-Chicago). "For every minute intervention is delayed, the chance of survival decreases by 10%." 

Senate Bill 1295 passed unanimously out of the House Police & Fire Committee and now moves to the House floor. The proposal passed unanimously out of the Senate earlier this month.

The American Heart Association said more than 350,000 people experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest annually, but only one in ten people survive. The organization said this change could give more people the chance to survive.

"We are losing too many of our friends and family to heart disease," said Sen. Doris Turner (D-Springfield). "Ensuring that our emergency dispatchers are well-equipped to handle these situations will save lives."