The Dominic Murray Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Act is effective July 1, 2022. This act was written to ensure that schools, students, and parents are provided with critical, lifesaving information on sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) risks, signs and symptoms, to ensure students at risk are evaluated prior to participation in athletics, and that SCA is immediately recognized and treated to prevent death.
The Act requires:
- The Commissioner of Health to develop information, in conjunction with the Commissioner of Education, relating to pupils exhibiting signs or symptoms of pending or increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest and directs the Commissioner of Education to post the information on the Department’s website;
- All schools must include such information in any permission form, consent form, or similar document that may be required for a student’s participation in interscholastic athletics or reference how to obtain such information from the Department and Department of Health’s websites, or on the school’s website, if one exists;
- Any student displaying signs or symptoms of pending or increased risk of sudden cardiac arrest shall be immediately removed from athletic activities, and shall not resume athletic activity until he or she has been evaluated by and received written and signed authorization from a licensed physician; and retain the authorization on file in the student’s permanent health record.
To meet these requirements the Department has developed
this memo to schools in collaboration with the Department of Health to provide the required information on sudden cardiac arrest. Additionally the Interval Health History for Athletics has been revised to elicit questions on cardiac health and history, along with a parent/guardian memo to explain the law and the importance of the health history form. All of these are also available on the
NYSED Health Services webpage.
*Our Family ID Registration Questions have been updated to reflect the new guidance*
