Florida Senate - 2012 CS for SB 332
By the Committee on Health Regulation; and Senator Bullard
588-01577-12 2012332c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to infant death; amending s. 383.3362,
3 F.S.; revising legislative findings and intent with
4 respect to the sudden unexpected death of an infant
5 under a specified age; defining the term “Sudden
6 Unexpected Infant Death”; revising provisions relating
7 to training requirements for first responders;
8 revising requirements relating to autopsies performed
9 by medical examiners; requiring the Medical Examiners
10 Commission to provide for the development and
11 implementation of a protocol for the medical and legal
12 investigation of sudden unexpected infant deaths;
13 deleting references to the SIDS hotline and local SIDS
14 alliances; providing an effective date.
15
16 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
17
18 Section 1. Section 383.3362, Florida Statutes, is amended
19 to read:
20 383.3362 Sudden Infant death Syndrome.—
21 (1) FINDINGS AND INTENT.—The Legislature recognizes that
22 the sudden unexpected death of an infant who is in apparent good
23 health Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, is a leading cause
24 of death among infants children under the age of 1 year, both
25 nationally and in this state. The Legislature further recognizes
26 that first responders to emergency calls relating to such a
27 death need access to special training to better enable them to
28 recognize that such deaths may result from natural or accidental
29 causes or may be distinguish SIDS from death caused by criminal
30 acts and to appropriately interact with the deceased infant’s
31 parents or caretakers. At the same time, the Legislature,
32 recognizing that the primary focus of first responders is to
33 carry out their assigned duties, intends to increase the
34 awareness of possible causes of a sudden unexpected infant death
35 SIDS by first responders, but in no way expand or take away from
36 their duties. Further, the Legislature recognizes the importance
37 of a multidisciplinary investigation and standardized
38 investigative protocols in cases of sudden unexpected infant
39 death standard protocol for review of SIDS deaths by medical
40 examiners and the importance of appropriate followup in cases of
41 certified or suspected SIDS deaths. Finally, the Legislature
42 finds that it is desirable to analyze existing data, and to
43 conduct further research on, the possible causes of infant death
44 SIDS and how to reduce lower the number of sudden unexpected
45 infant deaths.
46 (2) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term:
47 (a) “Sudden Infant Death Syndrome,” or “SIDS,” refers to
48 means the sudden unexpected death of an infant under 1 year of
49 age whose death appears to be a result of natural causes but
50 which remains unexplained after a complete autopsy, death-scene
51 investigation, and review of the case history. The term includes
52 only those deaths for which, currently, there is no known cause
53 or cure.
54 (b) “Sudden Unexpected Infant Death” or “SUID” refers to
55 the sudden unexpected death of an infant under 1 year of age in
56 apparent good health and whose death may have been a result of
57 natural or unnatural causes.
58 (3) TRAINING.—
59 (a) The Legislature finds that an emergency medical
60 technician, a paramedic, a firefighter, or a law enforcement
61 officer is likely to be the first responder to a request for
62 assistance which is made immediately after the sudden unexpected
63 death of an infant. The Legislature further finds that these
64 first responders should be trained in appropriate responses to
65 sudden infant death.
66 (b) After January 1, 1995, The basic training programs
67 required for certification as an emergency medical technician, a
68 paramedic, a firefighter, or a law enforcement officer as
69 defined in s. 943.10, other than a correctional officer or a
70 correctional probation officer, must include curriculum that
71 contains instruction on SUID Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
72 (c) The Department of Health, in consultation with the
73 Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council, the Firefighters
74 Employment, Standards, and Training Council, and the Criminal
75 Justice Standards and Training Commission, shall develop and
76 adopt, by rule, curriculum that, at a minimum, includes training
77 in SUID the nature of SIDS, standard procedures to be followed
78 by law enforcement agencies in investigating cases involving
79 sudden deaths of infants, and training in responding
80 appropriately to the parents or caretakers who have requested
81 assistance.
82 (4) AUTOPSIES.—
83 (a) The sudden unexpected death of any infant under 1 year
84 of age who was in apparent good health falls under the
85 jurisdiction of the medical examiner pursuant to s. 406.11 must
86 perform an autopsy upon any infant under the age of 1 year who
87 is suspected to have died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The
88 autopsy must be performed within 24 hours after the death, or as
89 soon thereafter as is feasible. When the medical examiner’s
90 findings are consistent with the definition of sudden infant
91 death syndrome in subsection (2), the medical examiner must
92 state on the death certificate that sudden infant death syndrome
93 was the cause of death.
94 (b) The Medical Examiners Commission shall provide for the
95 development and implementation of develop and implement a
96 protocol for medical and legal investigation of sudden
97 unexpected infant death dealing with suspected sudden infant
98 death syndrome. The protocol must be followed by all medical
99 examiners when conducting the autopsies required under this
100 subsection. The protocol may include requirements and standards
101 for scene investigations, requirements for specific data,
102 criteria for ascertaining cause of death based on the autopsy,
103 criteria for any specific tissue sampling, and any other
104 requirements that the commission considers necessary.
105 (c) A medical examiner is not liable for damages in a civil
106 action for any act or omission done in compliance with this
107 subsection.
108 (d) An autopsy must be performed under the authority of a
109 medical examiner under s. 406.11.
110 (5) DEPARTMENT DUTIES RELATING TO SUDDEN UNEXPECTED INFANT
111 DEATH (SUID) DEATH SYNDROME (SIDS).—The Department of Health
112 shall:
113 (a) Collaborate with other agencies in the development and
114 presentation of the Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) Death
115 Syndrome (SIDS) training programs for first responders,
116 including those for emergency medical technicians and
117 paramedics, firefighters, and law enforcement officers.
118 (b) Maintain a database of statistics on reported sudden
119 unexpected infant deaths SIDS deaths, and analyze the data as
120 funds allow.
121 (c) Serve as liaison and closely coordinate activities with
122 the Florida SIDS Alliance, including the services related to the
123 SIDS hotline.
124 (d) Maintain a library reference list and materials about
125 SUID SIDS for public dissemination.
126 (e) Provide professional support to field staff.
127 (f) Coordinate the activities of and promote a link between
128 the fetal and infant mortality review committees of the local
129 healthy start coalitions, the local SIDS alliance, and other
130 related support groups.
131 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2012.