According to the American Heart Association, heart disease kills more people each year than all forms of cancer combined. It is the leading global cause of death, killing around 18.6 million people per year. Project ADAM is an organization that strives to get systems in place inside communities across the country to prevent sudden cardiac death. Through Project ADAM, schools, sporting programs, and community sites can become Heart Safe, with the equipment and training needed to be prepared and respond during those first critical minutes. Currently, 35 Iowa schools have been declared Heart Safe. The first Heart Safe schools were designated in October 2022, including Liberty, City, West, and Camanche High School.
Project ADAM was started nationally after the death of Adam, a 17-year-old from Wisconsin who suffered sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) following a basketball game. A bystander administered CPR, but without a defibrillator, his heart couldn’t regain its normal rhythm. The ambulance arrived within eight minutes, but Adam needed an AED within 2-3 minutes to be given the best chance of survival. Over 1,000 people, including members of the community, family, and friends, attended Adam’s funeral. All it would have taken to improve his chances of survival is the right equipment and people trained to use it. However, the name has a double entendre, standing for Automated Defibrillators in Adam’s Memory or “ADAM.”
Brenda Haag has been the program coordinator for almost two years now and has been a Pediatric Cardiology Nurse at the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital for 25 years. She said, “I have worked in Pediatric Cardiology my entire nursing career in many different jobs. Project ADAM was an exciting challenge to do a bit more work outside of the University’s hospital setting.” She works with school nurses to help them through the designation process and implement the program, attend school designation drills, provide feedback, and debrief the school teams following their drills. Haag said, “Our program leaders provide the foundation for schools to plan and develop their program, including program templates and one-on-one consultation on how to prevent sudden cardiac death in the school setting.” Project ADAM Heart Safe Designation is attained by schools upon successful implementation of a quality SCA program of awareness, training, and effective emergency response to promote a Heart Safe environment for students, visitors, and staff as outlined in the Heart Safe School checklist.
Lindsey Eagle has been the district nurse for almost three years now and made it her goal this year to get the high school Heart Safe certified. The high school has six AED locations, including the lunchroom, outside of the health office door, outside the old auditorium, fitness center, outdoor stadium, and the one that the athletic trainer carries with them. The response team contains 12 staff members who are spread throughout the building. The cardiac response plan starts with notifying the response team, grabbing the nearest AED, getting to the emergency, starting CPR, calling 911 and parents, and directing EMS. These same plans can be used on a person with bad asthma, diabetes, or seizures as well.
As of April 23, the high school is officially Project Adam certified. They were able to deliver an AED shock within three minutes. They will do routine drills to maintain their certification. Through Project ADAM, schools, sporting programs, and community sites can become Heart Safe with the equipment and training needed to be prepared and respond during those first critical minutes. After Adam’s event, his family learned more about this completely unexpected incident: SCA can strike at any time, to anyone. So they made it their mission to help families who are in a similar situation to theirs. Adam always wanted to make a difference in the world, and this was their chance to keep that dream alive.
