BEDFORD CO., Va. – On Dec. 4, 2024, Jefferson Forest became the first school in Bedford County to earn the designation of a heart-safe school through Project ADAM and the Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU.
According to BCPS, there are only 30 K-12 schools in Virginia that have earned the heart-safe designation.
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Project ADAM, which stands for Automated Defibrillation in Adam’s Memory, was created in memory of Wisconsin teen Adam Lemel, who suffered from sudden cardiac arrest while playing basketball for his high school team in 1999. A bystander administered CPR and the ambulance arrived within 8 minutes, but Adam needed defibrillation within 2-3 minutes to be given the best chance of survival, unfortunately, the staff did not have the tools or skills needed to save Adam’s life.
Shortly after Adam’s death, his parents teamed up with Children’s Wisconsin Hospital to create Project ADAM which provides “Heart Safe” equipment and training needed to be prepared and respond during those first critical minutes of a sudden cardiac arrest.
In March 2022, staff members responded to a medical emergency at Jefferson Forest High School. Thomas Garrison, a custodian with the school, had gone into cardiac arrest and his life was saved due to the quick actions of his fellow employees who implemented life-saving efforts which included CPR and the school’s AED.
Due to this incident, JFHS decided they wanted to make a change to ensure that their staff and students were safe and had necessary staff, resources and proper training, BCPS said.
JFHS began the process to become “Heart Safe” many months ago and achieved the distinction by demonstrating preparedness for sudden cardiac arrest.
Under the leadership of their Nurse, Mrs. Ginny Davis, and with the support of the Principal, Dr. Ben Martin and the entire administration team, the school met all 14 standards set by Project ADAM to become a heart-safe school, BCPS said. The judges were impressed with the commitment of the school’s Cardiac Emergency Response Team.
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