For Christine Puricelli the death of her daughter Emilie has left a void in her life.

Christine Puricelli - video

Capitol Building in Harrisburg, PA

We traveled to Harrisburg, PA to testify before the House Subcommitee on Education.  We were there to support this bill that would mandate AED devices in schools and set up a pilot heart screening program.  We submitted written testimony, but were asked to comment too.  My comments are below:

Chairman Roebuck, Chairman Clymer and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to testify. My name is Darren Sudman and I reside in Plymouth Meeting, a town where two boys, Simon Sudman and Vince Bernardo, died from sudden cardiac arrest in the last five years. Simon was my son and Vince was a graduate of PW High School and a freshman at Shippensburg University.  I am here as the father of Simon Sudman and the co-founder of Simon’s Fund.  I am joined here by my wife, Phyllis and Josh Weisman, the fund manager.

Simon’s Fund was started five years ago, following the death of Simon.  In five years, it has provided heart screenings to over 1600 children in the Philadelphia area. 

Before I begin, I want to ask all of you a question. How many of you have been to a mall, sporting event or theme park with your child or grandchild, and turned around to realize that he or she was not there.  For that split second, do you remember that feeling . . . that sick feeling?  That’s what days feel like after your child dies.

Most of you probably assume that we came here today for Simon.  That is only partially true.  We are here today for your children, because one out of every 100 children have a potentially fatal heart condition.

There is good news.  This bill can help.  This bill, which includes the placement of AED devices and providing heart screenings, can reduce the number of childhood deaths.  How do we know?  Because in Italy, where they have been screening the hearts of all of their young athletes for 25 years, they have reduced the number of deaths by 89%.  Did you hear that . . . 89%.

There’s better news.  This bill can address the problem.  We are not asking for billions of dollars to research for a cure.  This bill is just asking for some inexpensive machines – AEDs – and even cheaper tests – ECG exams.

Let’s try this illustration.  If each member of this General Assembly had one child, and we screened the hearts of all 253 children, we would find 2 – 4 children with a serious heart condition.  That is an unacceptable statistic to ignore.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share our story today.  Simon’s Fund would like to return here to provide heart screenings for all of your children, and support your efforts on this bill.  We definitely support HB 1803.  Thank you for your time.

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Nancy Churnin – Reporter Bio

Autumn Reo of Arlington wants to raise awareness of Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week this week to help kids like her son Jackson. Valentine’s Day means so much to me and my loved ones. For one, I met my husband many years ago the same week as Valentine’s Day so in some ways it is an anniversary. Several years later this holiday would become another special anniversary for our family – as Feb. 7 – 14 is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week. And until 2008 I didn’t even know what a congenital heart defect was (CHD) until I was pregnant with our son, Jackson.

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Stuart Krug - Matt's Dad

By REID CHAMPAGNE • Special to The News Journal • February 4, 2010

In 2004, Christina Bennett, then a seventh-grade student at F. Niel Postlethwait Middle School in Camden, had just finished her gym class, where she admitted she had “overdone it.” Climbing to the top of a set of stairs after the class, she collapsed and her heart stopped. A teacher and nurse immediately grabbed the school’s Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and activated it. On the third attempt, they got Christina’s heart beating again. She was rushed to the hospital, where she remained for two months, and where a pacemaker was implanted in her chest.

 The news since then has all been good. Christina graduated from Caesar Rodney High School in 2009, and is now a spokeswoman for the Delaware Chapter of the American Heart Association. She will be attending Delaware Technical & Community College in the fall, and works two jobs to save money for college.

What happened to Christina was a medical accident, but the rapid, coordinated response that saved her life was not. The defibrillator that saved her life in middle school had been installed at Postlethwait two weeks earlier. Her resuscitation by the teacher and school nurse was the result of long-standing practice and standards for safety in public schools.

“Each public school maintains a crisis plan for students with special medical needs,” said Linda Wolfe, director of school support services within Delaware’s Department of Education. “That plan establishes a team composed of the school nurse as well as other school personnel trained in CPR.”

Wolfe said when a student emergency occurs, the team starts a series of detailed response protocols that are identified down to the level of who will call 911 and which teacher will fill the class vacated by the teacher or staffer responding to the emergency.

Wolfe said the Bennett case reflects how the nursing and medical standards developed by the education department are intended to work.

“Each public school maintains a registered nurse on staff, who must also have a [bachelor's] degree in nursing, completed certification requirements for school nursing and have three years of clinical nursing experience,” Wolfe said.

School nurses must also regularly maintain their CPR and defibrillator certification.

Today, every public and private school in Delaware with a student population of 75 or more has a defibrillator on school grounds and within easy access for emergencies. That was the goal set by the state’s Office of Emergency Medical Services in 2000.

“We’ve placed some 2100 [defibrillators] throughout the state over the last 10 years,” said Diane Hainsworth, Delaware’s paramedic administrator. In addition to all public and private schools, the devices have been placed in health and fitness centers, golf courses, senior centers, churches and other buildings where people assemble.

“We focused on schools primarily because of the frequency of public events occurring there that attract adult as well as student attendance,” Hainsworth said.

Wilmington resident Stewart Krug foundedthe Matthew Krug Foundation in honor of his 16-year-old son who died of cardiac arrest in 2001. He has been a devoted advocate of placing defibrillators in all public schools.

“With each minute that passes without treatment following a [sudden cardiac] attack, chances of survival are reduced anywhere from seven to 10 percent,” Krug said. “Brain death begins within just four to six minutes following [the attack].”

Having helped achieve his foundation’s vision of placing defibrillators in public and private schools, he remains at work on student-related safety, including free cardiac screenings and physical exams prior to participating in school sports. But Krug hasn’t taken his eye off defibrillators.

“There’s still the issue of making sure those units that are installed are maintained and charged on a regular basis,” he said.