{"data":{"id":"us-ri/r.i.-gen.-laws-23-6.5-1","jurisdiction":"us-ri","citation":"R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-6.5-1","heading":"Legislative findings.","body":"(1) Approximately three hundred twenty-five thousand (325,000) Americans suffer sudden cardiac arrest (“SCA”) each year and more than ninety-five percent (95%) of them die before reaching the hospital;\n(2) In the population of Rhode Island, an estimated one thousand (1,000) residents will die of cardiac arrest every year;\n(3) Healthcare facilities, as well as facilities that host large numbers of visitors, are more likely to experience an event that requires an automated external defibrillator (“AED”);\n(4) If defibrillation is performed within five (5) to seven (7) minutes, chances of survival are increased by forty-nine percent (49%). Every minute that goes by without defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by seven percent (7%) to ten percent (10%);\n(5) Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are extremely accurate computerized devices that can be operated by the average person; and\n(6) Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) can be acquired through grants from various organizations or through government agencies.","path":["Title 23 Health and Safety","Chapter 6.5 Automated External Defibrillators Required at Public Places and Healthcare Facilities"],"source_url":"https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE23/23-6.5/23-6.5-1.htm","current_through":"site files published 2025-08-13","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T19:56:39Z","sha256":"bfd3bd2b3d63f96336d73f8f83f21dbc8e7066175b6c27304c67bbbb5383fed5","source_id":"us-ri","stale":true,"prev":"us-ri/r.i.-gen.-laws-23-6.4-8","next":"us-ri/r.i.-gen.-laws-23-6.5-2"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}