Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin visited Capitol Hill this week to advocate for more schools having access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs).
Hamlin earned global attention when he collapsed during a January Bills game against the Cincinnati Bengals after a collision with wide receiver Tee Higgins sent him into cardiac arrest.
The Bills safety’s recovery from that shocking health scare has been one of sports’ true sources of inspiration this year, and Hamlin is now using his experience to advocate for the bipartisan “Access to AEDs Act.”
Bill co-sponsor Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla. explained that the legislation would “establish a grant program to provide schools with the funds to purchase and maintain AEDs, strengthen CPR training and develop cardiac emergency response plans.”
In DC today supporting the Access to AEDs Act to help protect kids from sudden cardiac arrest!
A huge step forward in ensuring every student has access to life-saving resources.
This is just the beginning of using my story to create real change. We’re just getting started 🫶🏾💕 pic.twitter.com/twhbppsUqO
— 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧 (@HamlinIsland) March 29, 2023
The bill also has support from the NFL, with commissioner Roger Goodell saying the effort would “no doubt will save countless lives of young athletes in the future,” per CNN.
To Hamlin, the legislation points back to the lifesaving medical treatment that he received in January from NFL medical staff.
“Sudden cardiac arrest happens to more than 7,000 kids under the age of 18 every year in our country – 7,000 kids every year, Hamlin said via CNN. “The majority of the kids impacted are student-athletes, and research shows that 1 in every 300 youth has an undetected heart condition that puts them at risk. For schools that have AEDs, the survival rate for the children from sudden cardiac arrest is seven times higher.”
Part of Hamlin’s advocacy involved meeting with President Joe Biden on Thursday. The president praised Hamlin for his “courage, resilience and spirit.”
Damar Hamlin’s courage, resilience, and spirit inspired the American people.
And what's more: he turned recovery into action – and our country is better for it.
It was my honor to have him and his family here today. pic.twitter.com/xju70wnAzl
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 30, 2023
It was a pleasure & an honor meeting you today. I know your time is precious and I wouldn’t waste a second of it! Our conversations were valuable.. 🫶🏾 #UncleJoe https://t.co/Oy7KR3Lk9E
— 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧 (@HamlinIsland) March 30, 2023
Hamlin’s work aims to hopefully give grade school athletes having a medical emergency the same opportunity for the treatment he received during that fateful Monday Night Football game.
“The Access to AEDs Act will help ensure that schools are just as prepared and trained to respond in the time of crisis as those on the sidelines of an NFL game,” Hamlin said, per CNN.
