Michigan’s effort to prepare schools for cardiac emergencies is running into a funding gap that officials and advocates say could leave districts unevenly equipped to respond quickly when a student’s heart condition turns life-threatening.
The state law passed in 2024 requires schools to develop cardiac emergency response plans, but it does so “if the Legislature appropriates ‘sufficient funds,’” and the current education budget provides no dedicated appropriation for implementation through the school safety fund. Ken Coleman, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Education, said in an email that because the budget did not include a specific state appropriation, “in the absence of designated funding, districts are not required to implement the plan.”
Coleman’s point reflects how districts are approaching the requirement ahead of the 2025-26 school year. Without government funding, enforcement “stalls,” advocates said, and decisions about whether and how quickly to implement plans vary based on local capacity and available resources for training, equipment, and coordination with emergency response agencies.
A key budget dispute centered on whether lawmakers would set aside money for equipment and related preparedness. A Senate proposal to include $25 million for “visitor management programs, low-level behavior software, panic alerts, and AED devices” was removed by the House and did not appear in the final budget. Advocates for heart health and emergency response readiness say that absence affects more than paperwork—AED devices, staff training, plan implementation with local emergency response agencies, and annual drills all require sustained spending.
The impact of such gaps can be stark in real life. Emily Orta, a 14-year-old soccer player in Adrian at the time of a shooting drill when her heart stopped and she was not breathing, later credited quick CPR by her coaches and a bystander’s retrieval of an automated external defibrillator, or AED, with keeping her stable before she was transferred to a hospital. Orta told Bridge Michigan the moment was “a complete shock,” and she said she “wouldn’t be here today” if not for the immediate response around her.
Orta’s experience is also tied to a broader concern raised by health advocates: while cardiac emergencies in schools are described as rare, pediatric out-of-hospital cardiac arrest cases occur at meaningful rates nationwide, and survival can depend on how quickly CPR starts and whether a shockable rhythm can be treated with an AED. The Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival, or CARES, reported Michigan had 8,632 non-traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrests for children and adults in 2024, and it said Michigan’s survival rate was 9% when emergency medical services responded—while survival odds tripled when the patient had a shockable rhythm and people who could help observed that the person appeared in distress.
CARES also reported that CPR was first performed by a bystander in 40% of Michigan’s cases when EMS responded, and that people used AEDs in public places such as schools, convention centers, and airports in 12.8% of cases. Dr. Premchand Anne, director of pediatric cardiology at Henry Ford St. John Children’s Hospital in Detroit, said in the reporting that having trained personnel in schools and AEDs in schools is “critical” to achieving much higher survival rates.
Even with the 2024 mandate, the state’s preparedness rollout appears uneven. Most Michigan schools have not yet earned the “HeartSafe” designation—an award indicating that a school has a written cardiac emergency response plan, adequate trained staff and equipment for intervention, and at least one cardiac emergency response drill each year. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reported that 965 public and nonpublic schools hold active MI HEARTSafe School Award status, and it said 202 schools received the designation for the first time in the 2024-2025 school year, with applications for the current school year due in May.
During the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill package intended to require schools to develop cardiac emergency response plans, train for such emergencies, and provide access to AEDs, and she described the legislation as “commonsense.” The American Heart Association and other supporters have argued that the emergency response requirements are tied to state funding, and dollars were not secured during last year’s budget process. In an analysis of the enacted bill, the House Fiscal Agency concluded that if appropriations prove insufficient, “no requirements for cardiac emergency plans would apply.”
Some elements of school training appear to be moving through other channels. The Michigan High School Athletic Association said head coaches must have CPR and AED certification under the legislation, but advocates say broader preparedness—including staff readiness across school buildings and the placement and accessibility of AED devices—still depends on funding that school districts may not be able to secure on their own.
Representatives for the American Heart Association in Michigan said lawmakers left out money that would have supported AED purchases and training, citing “competing priorities.” Amanda Klein, the organization’s government relations director in Michigan, said she was “disappointed” that Whitmer’s $88 billion budget plan did not specify funds for cardiac emergency response plans, and she said the association has determined that a one-time $6 million allocation could allow schools to purchase AEDs and implement training.
Project ADAM, a program housed at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital Congenital Heart Center, has worked with schools to prepare staff and students for sudden cardiac emergencies. Gwen Fosse, Project ADAM’s program coordinator, said there is “still a long ways to go” and acknowledged that some schools are doing the right thing without the funding, “or they’re finding alternate ways of funding.” She said the program reported seven cardiac emergency incidents on Michigan school grounds last year, with intervention helping to save lives in six of those cases.
Separately, a University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health found major awareness gaps among parents. Sarah Clark, co-director of the Mott Poll, said the issue in a sudden cardiac arrest is that people must “act promptly,” and she said when awareness is lacking “people aren’t going to be in a position to act.” The poll found that while nearly half of parents had heard of students experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, only 1 in 7 said their own child had ever had a heart evaluation, and it found that about 1 in 5 parents said their teen has CPR training and just 1 in 15 said their teen had been trained to use an AED.
Clinicians also emphasize that prevention and preparedness can operate together. Dr. Swati Sehgal, medical director for pediatric heart failure, cardiomyopathy, and heart transplant for the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, said many youth cases involve arrhythmia issues or cardiomyopathy, including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Other reporting cited by the story said universal EKG screening is not recommended by the American College of Cardiology and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, reflecting the rarity of sudden cardiac arrest in children and systemic tradeoffs; even so, physicians said having the right tools and training during an emergency remains vital.