Michigan Schools Required To Have Heart Emergency Plans, but Oversight Lacking

Michigan schools must now have plans ready for heart emergencies, but there's no state oversight to check if they do it. The 2024 law, which Gov. Whitmer put into effect, puts the task of following rules in each school's hands.

A check by WILX News 10 shows DeWitt Public Schools stands alone in meeting all rules among four Mid-Michigan counties. Other school districts have some parts in place but miss some steps.

"What we really find is that this is something that schools have been preparing for for decades. They've acquired the AED. They've acquired the knowledge, but to then actually put that in one place in a cardiac emergency response plan to train for that, to be familiar with what will happen in that event, that may not be as formalized," said Rep. John Fitzgerald.

The push for change gained speed when a student fell during track practice last March. Coach and nurse Andrew DeHaan started CPR while his fellow coach ran for the AED. "I started CPR as he ran away. We had to use the AED," DeHaan said.

That student, Alyssa Atkinson, pulled through and now has a heart device inside her chest. Her mom Kelly Dolan says medical tests haven't shown why it happened.

Brady Cook, who runs Michigan Center Schools, knows the fear first-hand. His heart stopped twice - in 2019 and again this year. "Within seconds, they called an ambulance, they grabbed an AED and they administered CPR. And then when I came to, I ended up getting seven shocks, and it got me back in rhythm," Cook said.

State education officials won't track if schools stick to the new rules. "What we really find and expect is that schools will be able to take this information, adhere to it, because in the event of an accident, this is something that would probably be scrutinized," Fitzgerald said.

Since 2013, MI Heart Safe School Program has praised almost 1,000 schools for their work on heart safety. This success helped lawmakers trust schools to watch themselves instead of adding state control.

After Atkinson's close call, Allen Park schools made their safety plans stronger. "After my accident, they had the whole school just learn about it, the faculty, the staff," Atkinson said.