American Heart Association recognizes Sen. Alberta Darling with Friend of Heart award
Lawmaker recognized for efforts on dispatcher-assisted CPR, FoodShare incentives laws
American Heart Association recognizes Sen. Alberta Darling with Friend of Heart award
BROWN DEER, Wis. (June 20, 2018) – The American Heart Association presented Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) with a Friend with Heart award for her efforts on passing the Dispatcher-Assisted CPR law, as well as a law that incentivizes FoodShare participants to purchase healthy foods. Senator Darling also hosted the American Heart Month reception in the capitol, and authored a resolution declaring February Heart Month in Wisconsin. The award was presented at the North Shore Fire and Rescue today.
Both laws were passed in the last legislative session with full support of the American Heart Association. The dispatcher-assisted CPR law ensures all 911 dispatchers in Wisconsin can give CPR coaching over the phone during a cardiac arrest emergency. Currently, Wisconsin’s bystander CPR rate is around 19%, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, but this new law aims to increase that.
The FoodShare law creates a pilot program that offers FoodShare participants point-of-sale discounts on fresh produce and other healthy foods. The initial program will include 2,000 FoodShare participants in urban and rural Wisconsin with the hope that it will be expanded to all FoodShare participants as the outcomes are realized.
“It’s an honor to accept this award for two laws that will improve the lives and health of Wisconsinites,” said Sen. Darling. “CPR can double or even triple a cardiac arrest victim’s survival rate and Wisconsin communities will be safer with emergency dispatchers able to coach anyone through CPR. I’m also proud to make it easier to access healthy foods for those in the FoodShare program, because affordability or access should not be barriers to a healthy diet.”
“We’re committed to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke and Sen. Darling’s support of these two laws highlight how we are doing that in Wisconsin,” said Joe Haas, Milwaukee Board chair of the American Heart Association. “A healthy diet is a key way to prevent heart disease and the FoodShare pilot program paves the way for everyone in Wisconsin to be able to afford healthy foods. And when someone suffers cardiac arrest, CPR must be started immediately so they have the best chance of surviving. Dispatcher-assisted CPR ensures that anyone can begin CPR right away. We thank Sen. Darling for her support on these two life-saving laws.”
The American Heart Association would also like to thank Sen. Darling for hosting our annual American Heart Month reception in February, and for authoring a resolution for declaring February Heart Month in Wisconsin.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
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