Saving lives through awareness of sudden cardiac arrest in kids.
Cook Children's is proud to lead Project ADAM Texas, the only Project ADAM affiliate in the state.
The mission of the program is to serve children and adolescents through education and deployment of life-saving programs that help prevent sudden cardiac arrest. Project ADAM helps schools across the nation implement public access defibrillation (PAD) programs through support and education. The program helps schools determine the need for automated external defibrillators (AEDs), secure funding, provide program implementation templates and assist with effective marketing of the program.
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Project ADAM Texas is championed by Deborah Schutte, M.D., medical director of Cardiology at Cook Children's Medical Center and serves as the Project ADAM Texas' medical director. |
Project ADAM (Automated defibrillators in Adam's memory)
Project ADAM began in 1999 after a series of sudden deaths among high school athletes in southeastern Wisconsin. Adam Lemel, a 17-year-old Whitefish Bay, Wis., high school student collapsed and died while playing basketball. His parents, along with David Ellis, a childhood friend of Adam's, collaborated with Children's Hospital of Wisconsin to create this program in Adam's memory.
What Project ADAM Texas provides
While Project ADAM Texas can serve as a resource for other organizations, the primary goal is to provide schools across Texas with the necessary tools and education to plan, fund and develop their public access defibrillation (PAD) program.
Benefits of being a Project ADAM Texas heart-safe school
When joining Project ADAM, schools will learn how to:
- Identify a project coordinator at your school.
- Implement the program and provide information about acquiring CPR/AED training.
- Develop a school crisis team.
- Provide information about risk factors and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest.
- Connect you with other schools served by Project ADAM to share best practices.
And will receive information, form letters and easy-to-fill-out templates on:
- Receiving approval from school administrators and notifying parents of the need for the program.
- AEDs, including how to choose one, where to put it, how to use it and how to maintain it.
- CPR/AED training, including who to train, how many people to train and how often to train.
- Working with local emergency responders, identifying a medical director and learning state requirements.
- Mock drill scenarios.
- Funding, including already-identified sources and fund-raising ideas.
Heart-Safe Schools
The Heart-Safe designation is given to schools upon the successful implementation of a quality sudden cardiac arrest program of awareness, screening, training and effective emergency response to promote
Project Adam needs you
Project ADAM needs your support. Please help ensure that Project ADAM can continue to provide life-saving assistance to schools by donating. For more information, please contact Laura Friend, Project ADAM Texas program coordinator, at 682-885-6755 or laura.friend@cookchildrens.org.
Contact us
- For more information
- To schedule a free consultation
- To request a comprehensive DVD (English and Spanish) and CD containing materials that provide step-by-step activities necessary to develop a public access defibrillation (PAD) program
please contact Laura Friend, Project ADAM Texas program coordinator, at 682-885-6755 or
laura.friend@cookchildrens.org.
Resources
For parents:
For schools:
Below are links to a four-part instructional video that can be shared with educators and students on how to recognize sudden cardiac arrest, respond to a cardiac emergency and implement a public access defibrillation program for your school.
