Requires the establishment of a program relating to medical emergencies. (BDR 40-702)
SB137 requires the Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health to establish and operate a statewide program aimed at improving the public’s ability to respond to medical emergencies and improving access to emergency-response resources. The program must help volunteers obtain training in CPR, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training, or similar emergency-response instruction, and it must allow CPR-certified volunteers to register so the Division can notify the public of their location during emergencies.
The bill also requires the program to provide multiple ways to inform people experiencing or assisting with a medical emergency about nearby volunteers, health facilities, and first-aid or bleeding-control kits. Those notification methods must include signage, mobile applications, and QR codes. In addition, the Division must support communities seeking HEARTSafe Community designation, or a successor designation, and may offer incentives to encourage participation.
SB137 amends Chapter 439 of the Nevada Revised Statutes by adding a new section directing the Division of Public and Behavioral Health to create a new emergency-response access program. It authorizes the Division to collaborate with public and private entities, including EMS providers, health organizations, insurers, local governments, and national CPR or bleeding-control organizations, and to accept gifts, grants, and donations. The bill also defines key terms such as health facility, mobile device, and provider of health care, and takes effect in stages, with administrative authority immediately upon passage and full operational effect beginning January 1, 2026.
The bill appears to have broad bipartisan support and little visible opposition. It passed the Senate unanimously, 21-0, and the Assembly unanimously, 42-0, indicating strong agreement that improving emergency preparedness, CPR training, and public access to lifesaving resources is beneficial. The absence of recorded committee transcript debate suggests the measure was not especially controversial.
No major points of contention are evident in the available record. The main policy choices in the bill are operational rather than ideological: how the Division will implement volunteer registration, what kinds of notifications will be used, and how incentives for HEARTSafe Community designation will be structured. Potential practical concerns could include privacy for registered volunteers, the cost and administration of the program, and reliance on partnerships and donated funding, but no opposition or specific disputes are reflected in the votes or transcripts provided.