Under a law recently passed by the General Assembly, Virginia will require public schools to acquire and maintain automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, a medical device commonly used to help a heart return to a normal rhythm in an emergency.

It’s unclear how many schools in the commonwealth already have defibrillators, but the new law will require school boards to develop a plan for their placement and care in every school. Under current law, schools have the option to develop their own plan.

“We have all the ingredients and all the training already in place, except on the books,” said Sen. Jeremy McPike, D-Prince William, during a January subcommittee hearing on the proposal. The actual requirement for a defibrillator, he continued, “is really the last missing link of the chain of survival.”

McPike said he introduced the legislation following the Jan. 2 heart attack suffered by Damar Hamlin, a then-24-year-old defensive back for the Buffalo Bills, minutes into the start of a nationally televised football game.

Athletic trainers administered CPR and used a defibrillator on Hamlin before emergency services rushed him to a local hospital. Hamlin was discharged nine days later. But the incident spurred broader awareness of the risks of heart attacks even among relatively young people.

McPike submitted a budget amendment for $400,000 to help school divisions without defibrillators cover the costs of acquiring them. That money is tied up in ongoing negotiations between Democrats and Republicans on how to amend the state’s biennial budget.

He said the funding would be available to both schools and nonprofit organizations. According to the American Heart Association, most units cost between $1,500 and $2,000.

READ MORE. This story is written and reported by our media partner The Virginia Mercury