Friday, February 13, 2009

Learning from the tragedy of Max Gilpin

Perhaps something positive will come from the tragic story of Max Gilpin, the 15-year-old from Louisville who died after suffering heat stroke last summer during a high school football practice. Max's coach has been charged with reckless homicide.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reports on a bill introduced in the Kentucky state legislature that would mandate ice pools be available during practices and games when the heat index is above 94 degrees. The bill, introduced by Rep. Joni Jenkins, also calls for coaches to be certified in CPR and to be trained to use a portable device for treating people in cardiac arrest, according to the newspaper.

Max's mother, Michele Crockett,told the C-J: "After Max died, I said his death is not going to be in vain, and I am so excited to see somebody feels this is as important as we do."

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