A bill signed into law last Friday requires all golf courses in the state to have automatic external defibrillators, or AEDs, available on their premises.
Known as the David Casey Act, the bill is named for a Johnston man who died in February 2023 after experiencing cardiac arrest while playing golf at the Cranston Country Club. Shortly after, Betsy Casey, his widow, began advocating for lawmakers to pass legislation mandating AEDs be made available on public and private golf courses.
While the bill failed to make it out of the General Assembly when Representative Deborah Fellela of Johnston first attempted to introduce it in 2024, Casey continued to push for its approval. After the act’s second draft finally made it through the Assembly on May 29, Casey said she “felt relieved.”
“I felt like I’ve been able to make a difference,” Casey said in a phone interview with the SunRise, adding she hopes the bill’s positive impact will mean that her husband’s death was not in vain.
“Hopefully I’ve been able to save someone else’s life,” she said.
After Casey reached out to her, Representative Fellela felt moved by her story to introduce the bill.
“Just her compassion, her story, was so compelling,” Fellela said. “Her testimony and her passion for the bill just kept me moving forward.”
In the event of cardiac arrest, AEDs are devices designed to analyze a person’s heartbeat and, if necessary, correct the heart’s irregular rhythm by delivering an electric shock. When used properly, the devices can improve survival odds.
But using the devices can be daunting. Monica Caldwell, manager at the Goddard State Park Golf Course in Warwick, said the course already has an AED but its employees are nervous about the possibility of having to use it. “We’re not trained to use it, and we don’t want to be sued if something goes wrong,” she said.
Fellela said that the original version of the bill stipulated that an employee on the course must be trained to use an AED, but that condition was removed to avoid placing a financial burden on the courses to provide training. AEDs are designed to be used in an emergency without any prior training and provide clear instructions.
While previous state law required AEDs to be available at health clubs and public places where large groups of people gather, it did not stipulate that golf courses were included as one of those locations. State Senator Andrew Dimitri of Johnston, who introduced the Senate version of the bill alongside Fellela, said he was surprised to learn this.
“You’re at risk [of cardiac arrest] doing anything, but especially athletic activity,” he said when reached by phone. He referenced a statistic that states a person’s survival rate goes down by up to 10% for each minute that passes when they aren’t treated with either CPR or an AED after cardiac arrest. If treated immediately, however, Dimitri said “their chances of survival are very good.”
Despite not previously being required to provide them, many golf courses in the state already have AEDs installed. Those without them will now be responsible for purchasing them.
“There’s no cost to the state at all; the courses are strictly responsible for it,” Dimitri said. He estimated that an individual AED would cost between $1,200 and $2,500, with device batteries lasting about three years and the electrode pads used to deliver shocks lasting about five years before replacements are needed.
Dimitri said golf courses could request state funding for the devices in the future.
Joe McDonald, director of communications for the Rhode Island Golf Association, said that the organization “certainly support[s]” the bill following its approval by the General Assembly, “especially for the health and wellbeing of golfers in the state.” He said that RIGA is currently working to facilitate a program with the state that would provide funding for golf courses to purchase the equipment.
“This is something we’ll be behind,” he said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here