Come Jan. 1, Oregon will be among the first states in the nation to require owners of commercial buildings measuring more than 50,000 square feet to have automated external defibrillators on site.

But critics say the vague wording and lack of an enforcement provision in the defibrillator law are prompting compliance questions.

According to the American Red Cross, an estimated 300,000 people nationwide go into sudden cardiac arrest each year and only 5 percent survive. If the victim is shocked with a defibrillator within the first 10 minutes of the event, the victim’s chances “increase dramatically,” said Dr. James Laughlin, a cardiologist at The Heart Center in Bend.

The law’s author, state Sen. Mark Hass, D-Beaverton, said he used a defibrillator on a business colleague a few years ago. The colleague survived.

Hass said he authored Senate Bill 556 to help ensure large places of business, such as skyscrapers and shopping malls where large crowds gather, have an AED nearby.

“I got started on this because of a 7-year-old boy who died of heart arrhythmia at a public pool,” Hass explained. “There were two lifeguards and two doctors at the pool, one of them a cardiac surgeon, who said what they needed was a defibrillator, not four medically-trained people.”

CPR can keep blood circulating and oxygen flowing to the brain, but unless a heart’s rhythm is restored by a defibrillator, the victim faces long odds, said Katie Rice, a spokeswoman for the Bend-based Mountain River Chapter of the American Red Cross. But paramedics, who normally carry defibrillators, can’t always reach a victim in those first few crucial minutes.

Questions arise on cost of devices

Having more defibrillators around would definitely save lives, Laughlin said. But they aren’t cheap.

An AED — which uses a voice prompt to guide a user through the process of administering the defibrillating charge to a victim — costs, on average, between $1,000 and $2,000, Laughlin said.

Hass said he realized the cost could be burdensome for some small businesses, which is why he targeted the bill at owners of large buildings and not individual businesses. Hass said he had the support of building owners in drafting the bill.

According to the bill, any “place of public assembly” that has more than 50,000 square feet of floor space where more than 25 people congregate on a normal business day needs to have an AED.

However, the Portland-based spokesman for Safeway’s 100 Oregon stores, said the bill’s wording is problematic.

Dan Floyd questioned whether a distribution center that meets the size requirement could be interpreted as a place of public assembly. Additionally, Floyd said Safeway rents many of the buildings in which it operates, but it will likely purchase AEDs for all its stores to comply with the law, even if it’s not required to do so as a tenant.

“I think the bill’s intent is very good, but I think it’s a poorly written bill,” Floyd said. “We want to comply to save lives, and we want to, of course, cooperate with that, but it’s very difficult to determine” what the bill requires Safeway to do, he said.

Limiting liability

The bill excludes schools and places of worship. Hass said schools were not included because the Legislature imposed fiscal requirements for all bills involving education that would have killed the bill’s passage.

Hass said private entities are allowed to purchase AEDs for schools thanks to a bill he authored in 2005 that strips schools of liability for using AEDs.

A big part of the current law is similar language that removes liability for individuals and businesses who use AEDs, Hass said.

Melinda Merrill, the director of public affairs for Fred Meyer, one of the few businesses in Central Oregon potentially affected by the bill, said that’s one of the main reasons Fred Meyer supports the bill. Merrill said the grocery store chain would have had AEDs in its stores years ago were it not for the liability.

“We are pleased the bill came out the way it did,” Merrill said. “They will be in our stores, and we are pleased to be in compliance.”

But with regard to compliance, the bill lacks any enforcement or regulatory language. Hass said the bill’s provisions would be administered by the Oregon Department of Human Services.

A call to the department Tuesday was not returned.

Law may be expanded

State Sen. Jeff Kruse, R-Roseburg, who co-sponsored the bill, thinks building owners will comply without any threat of penalty.

“We’re trying to do our co-operative thing here, and I think most of these outfits will just do it,” Kruse said. “You go to Washington Square (mall in Tigard), for example, a thousand bucks for a defibrillator probably doesn’t have a major impact on their bottom line.”

Hass said he initially targeted large buildings because it was agreeable to the business community and doesn’t impact small businesses hurt by the recession. Should the effort work well, Hass said he will consider expanding the law’s reach.

“The biggest thing about this bill is getting (defibrillators) out in the public,” Hass said. “There’s no training required, and you can save lives.”

Cardiac arrest and defibrillators

Defibrillators in the workplace can be crucial because:

• Sudden cardiac arrest strikes more than 300,000 people per year.

•Only one out of every 20 sudden cardiac arrest victims survives.

• About 150 million Americans spend more than half their waking hours at work.

• Defibrillation is the treatment of irregular, sporadic or absent heart rhythm and is the only definitive treatment for sudden cardiac arrest.

• Congested streets, high-rise offices and remote work sites can slow emergency medical responders trying to reach sudden cardiac arrest victims.

Source: American Red Cross

Key points of Senate Bill 556

According to Oregon’s new law on defibrillators in the workplace:

• Owners of facilities with 50,000 square feet or more of floor space and where at least 25 people congregate on a normal business day shall have at least one automated external defibrillator on site.

The law further defines the facilities as those where business activities are conducted, where the public gathers for shopping, entertainment, amusement or to await transportation.

• Schools and places of worship are exempt from the requirement.

• The law goes into effect Jan. 1.