ATLANTA, Ga. - Georgia day-care businesses could soon be required to have anti-choking devices on hand if a bill in the State House is passed.
However, the devices aren't recommended by any major medical associations, nor are they approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration.
The bill has been introduced almost a year after Jamal Bryant Jr., a 16-month-old in Brunswick, died after choking on a watermelon seed. His parents were devastated.
That's why Townsend introduced House Bill 118, which is two-fold. It would reduce the time new employees at day cares have to get CPR certified, from 90 to 45 days. It would also require "portable airway clearance devices," also known as anti-choking devices, to be on hand at every daycare in the state.
"This bill has its heart in the right place. Anything you can do to save a child's life sounds like a good idea," says Dr. Ben Spitalnick, the former president of the Georgia chapter of the American Association of Pediatrics.
But Spitalnick says, while well-intentioned, the anti-choking device requirement might do more harm than good.
The devices are not approved by the FDA, nor are they recommended by the American Heart Association, which determines what's considered the gold standard in choking rescue protocol.
The devices are supposed to create negative pressure, that would essentially suck an object out of a choking person's throat. In April 2024, the FDA issued an advisory, saying issues with the devices include "failure to resolve a choking incident", "bruising around the face" and "scratches" in the throat.
"They've not been safety tested enough, they've not been studied enough, they've not yet been approved," says Spitalnick.
Another issue is delay of care.
"To get one of these devices if someone's choking, you have to go find the device, take it out of the packaging, assemble it, read the instructions. By then, significant time has passed that a child or a person who's choking could've been saved by traditional CPR."
Townsend recently made clear to a House Education subcommittee that the devices would be on-hand as a last resort, should CPR or the Heimlich maneuver fail.
"If the first two steps didn't work, let's go to that third step. If you're waiting on someone to arrive, it may be too late. Jamal didn't have a chance. Jamal could've had a chance if he had that third device. We don't know," says Townsend.
The bill was tabled by the House Education Committee for now, but it could be brought back with some tweaks. Townsend says he hoped to get it passed this session or next session.