Weatherford school district latest equipped to prevent cardiac deaths in North Texas
In 1999 in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, 17-year-old Adam Lemel collapsed and died during a game of basketball.
From that tragic moment came Project ADAM (Automated Defibrillators in Adam’s Memory), a nationwide program intended to help schools in all communities build CPR-AED (automatic electronic defibrillators) or public access defibrillator programs.
Weatherford High School has now joined that list, which includes several Fort Worth area schools, WISD officials recently announced.
“Project Adam focuses on preventing cardiac death in schools. Our desire was to bring this training and information to our staff to provide them with tools to intervene in emergency situations and make a lifesaving difference,” WISD Nursing Coordinator Shealee Mitchell said. “Our team of nurses worked with the administrative staff to create emergency response teams at every campus. Our ERT teams train side-by-side with the Weatherford EMS. We are prepared to intervene in just about any emergency situation that can occur in our district, and we drill for all kinds of situations.”
Other Fort Worth-area school districts that are in the program, sponsored locally by Cook Children’s Medical Center, are Argyle, Arlington, Birdville, Denton, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw, Everman, Fort Worth, Granbury, Grand Prairie, Grapevine-Colleyville, HEB, Joshua, Keller, Northwest, and White Settlement. Area private schools in the program include Boulevard Baptist Christian School in Burleson, Jane Justin School/Fort Worth Child Study Center, and Weatherford Christian School.
“Birdville ISD has been involved with Project Adam since it began, and we are proud to be involved with such an important initiative,” said Michelle Provence, Birdville Center of Technology and Advanced Learning Director of Health Services RN/MSN.
Adam’s parents, Patty Lemel-Clanton and Joe Lemel, collaborated with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin to create the program in his honor. Now, two dozen national hospital affiliates are in the program.
“We truly believe it is not enough to just have automatic electronic defibrillators in the building; having trained employees who also know how to use an AED and what to do in an emergency is what saves lives,” said Hollie Smith, Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD Health Service Coordinator BSN/RN. “Our district nurses work hard to train campus emergency response teams and conduct regular drills to make sure everyone knows what to do when seconds count. We are committed to promoting a ‘Heart Safe Environment’ for all students, staff, and visitors in EMS ISD.”
Cardiac deaths can happen in as little as three to five minutes, Cook Children’s officials noted in a letter congratulating WISD on the honor.
“The health and safety of our students, staff, parents, and visitors is a top priority in Weatherford ISD. We appreciate the support of Cook Children’s throughout this process, and are proud of our nurses and campus staff who have worked diligently to achieve the Project ADAM Safe School District recognition,” WISD Superintendent Jeffrey Hanks said. “We now have a designated cardiac emergency response team at each campus who are equipped to identify signs of sudden cardiac issues and initiate potentially life-saving measures.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2020 at 7:00 AM.