Legislating Common Sense

Dental hygenists in Wisconsin have a new requirement as a condition of renewing their licenses. Under 'Act 104' they must now show evidence of proficiency in the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. http://drl.wi.gov/prof/denh/whatsnew.htm

At first blush, this news didn't seem all that relevent to the employee benefits arena but then I got to thinking, how many dental offices already have AED's on site and one or more staff members proficient in CPR? Do any of them advertise this competitive advantage? Wouldn't it be nice if market forces prodded common sense change instead of legislators. (Of course, I am sure there is at least one AED in both the Assembly and Senate chambers in Madison!)

More to the point, is it just a matter of time before employers are required to have AEDs at the work site? The very best Work site Wellness Plan is arguably fatally flawed (pun intended), if there are no contingencies for a sudden cardiac event. http://www.redcross.org/services/hss/courses/aed.html