Thousands of families and children use recreation clubs and athletic fields across the Kansas City metro, yet none of those facilities are legally required to have a cardiac emergency response plan, a trained staffer, or even a defibrillator on hand. Public schools in both Missouri and Kansas must maintain exactly that kind of preparedness. Private youth sports venues do not.
That regulatory gap is the focus of new reporting from KCTV5, whose report found that private youth sports facilities across the region have zero state or local requirements for cardiac emergency plans or life-saving equipment, even as families and children use them. Missouri and Kansas schools, by contrast, are required to maintain cardiac emergency response plans and automated external defibrillators on site, according to the same report.
Kansas passed that requirement through K.S.A. 72-6288 in 2024 after a local student athlete collapsed in 2023, per the Kansas Association of School Boards. Missouri followed with Senate Bill 68, now codified as RSMo Section 160.482, which the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says takes full effect for the 2026-2027 school year and requires CPR and AED certification for coaches and nurses. AED placement must follow the local cardiac emergency response plan and recognized guidelines, and districts are not required to purchase AEDs unless funds are appropriated. KCTV5 reports no cardiac-safety requirements for private sporting facilities.
Every Minute Without a Shock Matters
Dr. Lindsey Malloy-Walton, who serves as Medical Director for Project ADAM KC at Children's Mercy Kansas City, told KCTV5 that every minute of delay reduces a cardiac arrest patient's chance of survival. CPR circulates blood and oxygen to the brain while an AED delivers an electrical shock intended to restore a regular heart rhythm, the outlet's report explains. The numbers behind that urgency are stark: the 2025 CARES national report found bystander-shocked cardiac arrest patients survived to hospital discharge at a rate of 47%, compared with just 28% for patients whose first shock was delayed.
Locally, the gap between what is possible and what actually happens is wide. More than 70% of cardiac arrest victims in Johnson County received no shock until an ambulance arrived, according to the 2025 CARES data cited in the same reporting. In Kansas City itself, 95% of cardiac arrest victims did not receive a shock until Kansas City Fire Department personnel arrived on scene. Emergency medicine specialists target a three-minute window from collapse to shock, a benchmark the Smart Heart Sports Coalition — formed on March 27, 2023, with the NFL and other organizations — has pushed states nationwide to adopt, per the coalition's own materials.
Public AEDs Are Meant for Anyone
Erin Gabert said public AEDs are intended for anyone to use, not just medical professionals, according to KCTV5's report. That matters because Good Samaritan laws in both Missouri and Kansas protect bystanders who attempt to save a life in good faith. Missouri's version, the Public Access to Automated External Defibrillator Act under RSMo Section 190.092, extends that same civil liability immunity to venue owners and property managers where an AED is installed, according to the Missouri state government. Malloy-Walton and Gabert are now pushing lawmakers to extend similar cardiac emergency requirements to recreational youth facilities, the same pair having previously advocated for the Missouri and Kansas laws that now mandate emergency response plans and AEDs in schools.
One Local Nonprofit Moves Ahead Anyway
Some organizations aren't waiting on legislation. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City added AEDs across all nine of its metro locations and placed portable units near outdoor athletic areas, KCTV5 reported. Kary Kankey said AEDs are non-negotiable for the organization. At Cleveland Park in Kansas City, Missouri, staff position an AED near the front entrance, and the nonprofit has updated its emergency protocols in coordination with the American Heart Association.
The push for stronger protections at private and recreational facilities echoes concerns raised elsewhere this year. Nationally, an estimated 15,000 to 23,000 children experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year. Pediatric survival is around 10%, while one study found higher survival when an AED was available on site.
What Parents Can Ask Before Practice Starts
Until state lawmakers act, parents are largely left to ask the questions themselves. KCTV5's reporting suggests parents can ask private sports facility management directly whether a cardiac emergency response plan exists, whether staff are trained, and whether an AED is on site. The local chapter of the American Heart Association offers guidance for facilities looking to implement those protocols voluntarily, even without a state mandate requiring them to do so.
