Murfreesboro City Schools has once again been recognized as a Heart Safe School District through Project ADAM, reaffirming its commitment to student and staff safety. MCS remains one of the only districts in the region to complete the Project ADAM specifications and maintain this important certification.
Project ADAM’s mission is to serve children and adolescents through education and the deployment of life-saving programs that help prevent sudden cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death in schools. Adults at work or visiting schools also benefit from the program. The goal is to engage the participation of all schools in Tennessee.
“Achieving Heart Safe School status again is a testament to our commitment to preparedness and safety,” says Brandie Garland, RN, Director of Nursing for Murfreesboro City Schools. “While we always hope we never have to use these skills, having the training and equipment in place can make all the difference in an emergency.”
As a Heart Safe School, students, visitors, and employees of MCS will have a better chance of surviving a cardiac arrest because of Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs). The AEDs are part of the district’s public access defibrillation program, which trains staff to recognize a cardiac emergency, perform CPR, and use the device to administer a shock to the heart.
The program ensures that nurses and first response staff are prepared to assist anyone who collapses, offering students, guests, and employees every chance to survive a cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is a condition in which abnormal heart rhythms cause the heart’s electrical impulses to suddenly become chaotic. When this happens, the heart stops abruptly, and the victim collapses and quickly loses consciousness.
“School nurses lead the way in advancing health and supporting education by ensuring that students are safe, healthy, and ready to learn,” says Dr. Trey Duke, Director of Schools. “Murfreesboro City Schools has a nurse in each school to care for students and staff, reinforcing our commitment to student well-being.”
Project ADAM is named in honor of Adam Lemel, who collapsed and died while playing basketball in January 1999. His death spurred efforts to establish a program to help schools place AEDs in all locations. The program, Project ADAM, was a joint effort of Adam’s friends and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and has been a resource for many schools across the nation. Since 2016, Tennessee has required all schools to provide annual SCA, CPR, and AED awareness training and perform at least one AED/CPR practice drill.