Sheridan Area Family To Lobby Lawmakers For School Cardiac Emergency Response Plans

A Big Horn High School student and her family are trying to lobby lawmakers to require schools to have a plan in place in the event of a cardiac emergency.

Six years ago, Emerson Kelly went into cardiac arrest outside of Woodland Park Elementary School.

School staff quickly figured out what had happened and through the use of CPR and an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED), they were able to save her life.

Kelly later received an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) as well as a pacemaker and was diagnosed with Long QT Syndrome, which is a genetic heart rhythm disorder.

She says it’s thanks to the school having trained responders that now, she and her family are asking Wyoming lawmakers to pass a law that all schools in the state, have a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan and have AED’s in specific spots on a school campus.

“We realize that not all schools have these action plans or AED’s on site and close enough. There’s some schools who have multiple buildings and maybe there’s only one in the main office, but there’s not in other parts of the school, so that it’s in range for anywhere that anybody goes down, that there’s an AED on site and close enough so that these people can be saved, because time is very limited when this happens.”

On Tuesday, February 10th, the Kelly family will attend the American Heart Association Wyoming Lobby Day Event at the State Capital during the Legislative Budget Session.

The AHA says each year, about 23-thousand children experience cardiac arrest, outside of a hospital.

Since Emerson’s incident, the Kelly family has purchased AED’s for Sheridan schools.

Emerson is also a member of the Sheridan High School softball team.