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Health Clubs at the Center of Defibrillator Debate
April 3, 2005
Henry Gilgoff; Compiled from FDA, American Heart Association and staff reports

If your heart suddenly needs a boost, an automated external defibrillator can be a lifesaver. But mandates to put the device within reach when you're working out can produce static.

At least, that's been true in Suffolk County. A Suffolk law took effect in November, mandating at least one defibrillator in each commercial health club in the county; a state law set to be implemented July 20 would do the same for clubs in New York, but only in clubs with 500 or more members. Each law also requires that a club have somebody trained to use the device.

Nassau does not have such a requirement, while a city law to take effect in July requires defibrillators in clubs with at least 250 members on health club services says it supersedes local laws not identical to it.

The differences in mandates leave little room for future legal showdowns. That's because a section in New York State's General Business Law on health club services says it supersedes local laws not identical to it.

Still, whether or not a mandate exists for their health club, consumers can learn more. "Somebody who is a member, who pays dues, has every right to ask questions," said George Rosales, director of advocacy in New York City and Long Island for the American Heart Association. He suggests asking if a club has a defibrillator even if it does so voluntarily and, if so, where it is kept and who on staff is trained to use it. If a club doesn't have one, a consumer can ask if it plans to - and when.

The defibrillators are devices to restore normal heart rhythm if somebody in sudden cardiac arrest suffers a "chaotic, abnormal electrical activity of the heart," according to the American Heart Association. The group says that, "unless the condition is reversed, death follows in a matter of minutes."

For information from the association, go to www.americanheart.org and type "automated external defibrillators" in the search box. For information from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, go to www.fda.gov and do the same search.

Yet another source is the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation (www.la12.org), created after Acompora died five years ago. He was a 14- year-old goalie on the Northport High School junior varsity lacrosse team, playing a game in West Islip when he was hit with a lacrosse ball, said Karen Acompora, his mother and foundation president. "He collapsed and he was in sudden cardiac arrest," she said. "Had a defibrillator been there, he would absolutely be alive today."

Last month, Bally Total Fitness said its Suffolk clubs did not have defibrillators despite the county mandate. The concession and a promise by the chain to quickly comply came to light with a News 12 report. Last week, Bally said in a statement to Newsday that it was now "in full compliance" with the Suffolk law and was taking steps in its other New York clubs to meet the state deadline. "There was confusion on our end," Bally spokesman Jon Harris said. "We were under the impression that New York State had given us until July 2005 to comply."

Not surprising, according to Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. "It's totally understandable why these clubs would be confused," Levy said, given disparities in mandates and the pre-emption clause in New York's General Business Law on health club services. In January, Levy called on the county legislature to take an action that his chief deputy, Paul Sabatino, would have effectively withdrawn Suffolk's mandate as enacted.

The legislature stymied Levy, and the American Heart Association registered opposition to his proposal. In a letter to Cameron Alden (R-Islip), the law's sponsor, Rosales of the association, wrote that the Suffolk law is "more inclusive" than the state's and is easier to enforce.

State Sen. Charles Fuschillo (R-Merrick) said the state law he sponsored in the Senate was a compromise. Industry misgivings about mandates were indicated by a Bally letter to Alden in Suffolk last May, opposing that mandate as "overly broad" and saying most incidents of sudden cardiac arrest occur in homes and hospitals. Fuschillo agreed with Levy's staff that Suffolk's law will be superseded once New York's mandate takes effect, unless the state law is amended.

Not everybody is sure. Robert Calandra, chief of staff for City Councilman James Oddo (R-Staten Island), sponsor of the law that includes a requirement for defibrillators in health clubs in the five boroughs, said city lawyers had reviewed that provision and did not believe it would be preempted. Mea Knapp, counsel to the Suffolk County Legislature, said the issue may be decided in the courts if a dispute reaches that level.

One Suffolk senior is glad such fights are for the future if they are ever fought. He complained to Alden's office that Bally employees in Suffolk told him the county law didn't apply, and an Alden aide eventually called the media. (To complain about a suspected violation of Suffolk's law, call the Department of Health Services at 631-853-3170 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays.)

The senior, who did not want to be identified, said he has high blood pressure and other ailments, but, he said, "you don't have to be over 60 to have a heart problem. It can happen to anybody."

Contact Henry Gilgoff at hgilgoff@newsday.com.