NORFOLK, Neb.—Norfolk Public Schools (NPS) has been honored as a "Heart Safe School" by Children’s Nebraska’s Project ADAM, marking a significant milestone in the district's commitment to protecting its students, staff, and visitors from sudden cardiac arrest.

This recognition coincides with the 25th anniversary of Project ADAM's Heart Safe program and was made possible by a generous grant from the Acklie Charitable Foundation, which provided new Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to the district.

The Heart Safe designation underscores NPS's proactive measures to address sudden cardiac arrest, a condition that can cause individuals to lose consciousness, experience breathing difficulties or seizure-like movements, and ultimately result in no pulse.

Immediate CPR and the use of AEDs are critical in such situations. Pediatric Cardiologist & Electrophysiologist Dr. Matt Sorensen emphasized the importance of AEDs, stating, "The AED analyzes the rhythm and tells you how often to check for a pulse, how often to do rescue breaths, but the most important part is it can deliver a shock, which resets the heart and allows the normal heartbeat to come back."

Project ADAM was inspired by the tragic loss of Adam Lemel, a 17-year-old Wisconsin student who died from sudden cardiac arrest while playing basketball in 1999.

“He was doing what he loved when he died,” Sorensen explained. “Everybody did the right thing and it still wasn’t enough. That's when the children's hospital in Wisconsin, the cardiologists, and the Lemel family realized that there was more that needed to be done and that's why they started this national movement to get AED’s where they're needed.”

To qualify as a Heart Safe school, NPS was required to develop an emergency action plan, establish an emergency action team trained in CPR, and conduct regular practice drills using mannequins.

Blair Brink, an RN with 18 years of service to NPS, noted that the district has thankfully never had to use an AED. The recognition from Project ADAM will allow NPS to upgrade its equipment and expand resources to the broader community.

“We had 17 AED’s and now we're going to have 30,” Brink said. "So we are going to add them to add them to bigger buildings and some our outside buildings, and even Veterans Memorial Field, Ta-Ha-Zouka Park, and where we have sporting events."

According to the American Heart Association, approximately 10% of the more than 350,000 annual cardiac arrest cases in the United States survive, with about 7,000 cases involving individuals under 18. Project ADAM is currently active in 35 states, with the goal of expanding to all 50.