Community Corner

Senate Vote Final Hurdle in Janet's Law

Janet's Law may face final vote before the end of June.

A bill to make automated external defibrillators required at schools has only one vote left in the full state Senate before going to Gov. Chris Christie to become law.

The bill, known as was unanimously approved by the Senate Budgets and Appropriations Committee this week. It is named in memory of a Warren resident, Janet Zilinski, who died from sudden cardiac arrest while participating in a cheerleading practice.

Janet’s Law, , requires every public and private, K-12 school in New Jersey have at least one Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

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It would further require that there be at least five trained responders at each school, that the school have an emergency action plan for dealing with a cardiac event and that signs be placed in the school leading to the AED.

The next Senate voting session is at the end of June and the Zilinskis have asked anyone they can reach to support the measure by contacting Senate leaders to urge them to post Janet’s Law (S-157) for a full vote. 

Find out what's happening in Chathamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

has also publicized the law, and JoAnne Babbitt is hopeful the law will pass. Babbitt is intimately familiar with the process of turning a bill into a law, since she was actively involved in getting the passed earlier this year, which from liability.

The JTB Foundation has helped install AEDs at schools, parks and public locations in Chatham and throughout the state. It is named after a Chatham teen who died of sudden cardiac arrest while playing basketball at .

AEDs are an easy-to-use medical device that restarts the heart during Sudden Cardiac Arrest. The AED must be displayed in a central location and be easily accessible. The AED must also be made available during after-school hours, if the school is being used for any athletic event or school activity.

To see a video of this reporter learning to use an AED, .


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