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Project ADAM

Heart Safe Schools

In partnership with Project ADAM, Children’s Mercy will assist your school to become Heart Safe, a designation awarded from completing school-based CPR and AED programs and creating an emergency plan of action for someone experiencing sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Children’s Mercy will assist in planning for a SCA event at your school.

Bringing lifesaving training right to your school, Children’s Mercy and Project ADAM can provide education to students and faculty. School-based CPR and AED programs establish a community of first responders. First responders improve the likelihood of survival for students, school staff and visitors with sudden cardiac arrest.

Contact us at (816) 302-3630 or ProjectADAM@cmh.edu.

Lindsey Malloy-Walton, DO, MPH, FAAP
Medical Director, Project ADAM KC

Kaitlyn Bennett, BSN, RN, CPN
Program Coordinator, Project ADAM KC

Mari Hanson, MNSc, RN, CPNP-PC and Leann Miles, MNSc, APRN, CPNP-AC
Volunteers, Project ADAM KC

Project ADAM began in 1999 after the death of Adam Lemel, a 17-year-old Wisconsin high school student who collapsed and died while playing basketball. Adam suffered a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), in which early CPR and an automated external defibrillator (AED) could have saved his life. Project ADAM’s goal is to provide schools with the training and tools to be prepared should a cardiac emergency occur.

A sudden cardiac arrest is when the heart unexpectedly stops beating. This can happen to children and adults. Possible warning signs, when present, can include:

  • Fainting or dizziness with exercise.

  • Excessive fatigue or shortness of breath with exercise.

  • Chest pain or chest discomfort with exercise.

CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is an emergency lifesaving procedure performed when the heart stops beating. Immediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival after cardiac arrest.

An AED, or automated external defibrillator, is used to help those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest. It's a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use, medical device that can analyze the heart's rhythm and, if necessary, deliver an electrical shock, or defibrillation, to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm. If used quickly, an AED can restart the heart and increase the chance of surviving a sudden cardiac arrest.

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