FARMINGTON, Ark. — Parents place their trust in school teachers and staff every single day to keep their kids safe as they get their education, and on Friday, one local school became better prepared to respond to cardiac emergencies through Project ADAM.
Project ADAM, or 'Automated Defibrillators in Adam's Memory," was founded in 1999 in memory of 17-year-old Adam Lemel, who collapsed and died while playing basketball in Wisconsin.
The program seeks to save lives by educating communities about how to respond to cardiac arrest.
It's reached hundreds of schools across the country. Today, Folsom Elementary in Farmington became the 75th Arkansas school to become Project ADAM designated.
"Who wouldn't want to have this at their school? This makes sense. It protects the kids, it protects the staff. It protects the family," said school nurse and leader of the response team, Laura Hardy.
The Folsom Elementary team of eight teachers and staff trained for months in preparation for this day.
Hardy said, "We're super proud of the team, we had a great response time."
To be designated, the school must start CPR on the victim within one minute, and administer a shock with an AED in under three.
Arkansas Children's Hospital observer Charles Wooley stated it can take a while for responders to arrive on the scene. Especially in a rural state like Arkansas. "We know that if we delay CPR by one minute, the chances of the patient's survival go down by 10% for every minute we delay."
Trained individuals who can administer CPR until help gets there make all the difference.
That's why Wooley hopes to see every school in Arkansas a designated member of the Project ADAM program— to save lives.
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