Janet Fund Founders Heading to Lobby State Officials

It's been a long road for Jim and Karen Zilinski, of Warren Township, in their efforts to prevent additional deaths from sudden cardiac arrest. Since the death of their daughter Janet in 2006 from SCA while at a cheerleading practice,  the Zilinskis have made the prevention of more such deaths their top priority.

Sadly, 30 more children in New Jersey have died since that year—but that hasn't slowed down the couple in their mission to bring life-saving automatic defibrillators and CPR education to schools and playgrounds.

A bill to require the equipment and training at schools—Janet's Law—has been floating about the state capitol for several years, but so far its passage has eluded the Zilinskis. The measure passed the state Senate's Education Committee in 2008, but didn't get out of the Senate Appropriations Committee—or anywhere in the Assembly.

This year may be different: armed with a string of fundraising and educational successes, the Zilinskis are now focusing on gathering some lobbying clout to help move the bill.

Thursday, they will be ready to testify at the Assembly Education Committee hearing on A-781, sponsored by Assembylyman Jon Bramnick, R-21. With a little help, they may be able to help move the bill forward through the labyrinth legislative process this time.

"New Jersey children need to be protected—and had someone done what we do now, prior to my daughters passing, maybe she would be alive today," Jim Zilinski, chairman of the Janet Fund, said. "That is what motivates us; we do not want another family to feel the type of loss we feel every day."

He added the focus right now is on making sure AEDs are located in schools because that's where kids spend a lot of time (Warren schools all have AEDs; the fund has donated more than 80 units to schools in the state), but playing fields may be incorporated into Janet's Law requirements in the future.

Janet's Fund works to educate parents about SCA, as well as teach CPR and raise money to provide AEDs to schools and for placement at athletic fields. The fund's efforts may prove a valuable asset in seeking legislative support.

"No one is against the bill, it is a money thing," Zilinski said.  "We have tried to help that with the new revisions: the law, if passed this year, would take effect two years later, allowing the schools to have enough time to raise funds if needed and to develop public access plans. We even have a sudden cardiac arrest emergency action plan they can use. 

"We also, for the next two years, are donating AEDs to schools that do not have them or the means to get one," he added. "We are trying to take away every objection they could have."

But with politicians keenly focused on any expenditure, it may be easy for them to forget that SCA is the leading cause of death among student athletes, as well as the leading cause of student deaths in schools; or that a similar New York law passed in 2002 is credited with already saving 55 students' lives.

So next week, the Zilinskis will be on a hunt for more sponsors for Janet's Law. Currently, A-781 enjoys eight Assembly sponsors in addition to Bramnick, including
Craig Coughlin (D-19), Vincent Prieto (D-32), Patrick Diegnan Jr. , Connie Wagner (D-38), Thomas Giblin (D-34),  James Holzapfel (R-10), David Wolfe (R-10) and Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-37); four more than in the 2008 session.

They're hoping to bring more pressure on legislators to move the bill, and its Senate cousin S-393, sponsored by Robert Singer (R-30), Joseph Vitale (D-19), Fred Madden Jr. (D-4), and  Barbara Buono (D-18).

For more information about the Janet Fund, visit its website here.