Project Adam Heart Safe Designation
After a year of learning, preparation, and practice drills, Adams Central has been designated a Project ADAM Heart Safe School. Donna Barger (Adams Central Certified School Nurse) presented Adams Central's journey, bringing them to today's simulation test to earn the designation. She talked about creating multiple rapid response teams, designating roles for the team members, training each member, and running numerous drills to build each member's confidence to respond in a real emergency. She then initiated the Rapid response test simulation in front of community members, Adams Memorial Hospital representatives, and special guests, who witnessed the process from the time the "person" was found to the arrival of the Monroe Fire first responders, and ended with the ambulance arriving on the scene. The total simulation took around 12 minutes and concluded with a quick debrief over the simulation. Tonya Aerts, Project Adam Indiana Community Advocate for Northeast Indiana, provided feedback on the simulation, stating it was one of the best drills she had seen, and was happy to announce that Adams Central earned the Project ADAM Heart Safe School designation.
Project ADAM was started after a young man named Adam collapsed during a basketball game and passed away from cardiac arrest. Upon his passing, his parents learned that the availability of an AED within just two minutes of his collapse could have had the potential for a different outcome for Adam. Sudden Cardiac Arrest is the #1 reason for student death on a school campus and is the #1 killer of a student-athlete. Project ADAM strives to assist schools and communities in establishing a practiced plan to respond to sudden cardiac arrest.
AED Devices Donated by Adams Memorial Hospital
After being awarded the Project ADAM Heart Safe School designation, Dr. Scott Smith, CEO of Adams Memorial Hospital, Kris Burkhart, Paramedic and Manager of EMS Mobile Integrated Health, and members of the Adams Memorial Hospital were on hand to present six new AEDs to Adams Central Community Schools. Adams Memorial Hospital (AMH) has received the IHOPE grant for training and educational outreach programs focusing on sudden cardiac arrest, choking, and congestive heart failure. When sudden cardiac arrest occurs, CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) must be started within two minutes of a witnessed arrest to have a positive outcome. The IHOPE grant funding also provides AEDs (Automatic Electronic Defibrillators).
