When a cardiac emergency happens, every second matters. Lake Hamilton School District employees recently put weeks of training and preparation to the test as all six district campuses completed the process to become recognized as Arkansas Heart Safe Schools through Project ADAM® at Arkansas Children’s.
Over the past several weeks, emergency response teams at each Lake Hamilton campus have trained and practiced for the possibility of a sudden cardiac emergency involving a student, employee or visitor.
Each team member was assigned a specific role in the school’s cardiac emergency response plan. Responsibilities include activating the emergency response, calling 911 and communicating the exact location of the emergency, beginning CPR, retrieving and operating an automated external defibrillator (AED), directing first responders to the patient and assisting with other critical parts of the response.
After weeks of preparation, it was time to put those plans to the test.
Charles Wooley, Project ADAM Coordinator and Outreach Coordinator with the Arkansas Children’s Heart Institute, visited each of Lake Hamilton’s six school campuses to conduct unannounced simulated cardiac emergency drills.
The teams knew they would be tested, but they did not know when or where the simulated emergency would occur.
At each school, Wooley selected a location, placed a training manikin and presented the nearest employee with a simulated emergency involving a student, staff member or visitor. From that moment, the employee had to initiate the school’s response plan and the clock began.
The goal was to have trained team members reach the patient and begin lifesaving care within 60 seconds while other members of the response team activated emergency services and carried out their assigned responsibilities.
“We talk about preparedness a lot, but until we actually run a drill, that’s when the readiness piece fits in,” Wooley said. “It’s always exciting to see people rally around this idea that we can save a life. We saw that at Lake Hamilton multiple times. They showed how much they care about kids and each other.”
Local first responders and emergency medical professionals also participated in the drills, allowing Lake Hamilton teams to practice the complete emergency response — from recognizing the emergency and beginning lifesaving measures to communicating with dispatch, directing responders to the correct location and transitioning care when professional responders arrived.
“Practice equals preparedness,” said Jamie Carson, Pafford Community Outreach Coordinator. “These drills simulate the dispatch, to the first responders, to EMS, and all school officials and teachers. In order to make this work, we practice what we want to see work in a real situation.”
Project ADAM, which stands for Automated Defibrillators in Adam’s Memory, works with schools and communities to prepare for sudden cardiac arrest through education, CPR and AED readiness, established cardiac emergency response plans and practice drills.
Following the completion of the training, planning and drills, all six Lake Hamilton School District campuses have now earned recognition as Arkansas Heart Safe Schools.
Lake Hamilton Superintendent Dr. Tony Thurman said the districtwide recognition reflects the commitment of employees and community emergency response partners to being prepared when every second matters.
“We are incredibly proud to have all six of our school campuses recognized as Arkansas Heart Safe Schools,” Thurman said. “The safety of our students, staff and visitors is one of our greatest responsibilities, and this process gave our employees the opportunity to put their training into action in a realistic setting. I’m proud of the way our teams took this responsibility seriously, learned their roles, and worked together with Arkansas Children’s and our local first responders and emergency medical professionals. We hope we never face a situation where these skills are needed, but if we do, I’m grateful to know we have trained employees throughout our district who are prepared to step in, work together and respond when seconds matter.”
While earning the Arkansas Heart Safe School recognition marks the completion of the certification process, the real value is in the preparation behind it.
Across all six Lake Hamilton campuses, employees now know their roles. Emergency teams have practiced responding together. AEDs are accessible. Response plans have been tested. School personnel have worked alongside first responders and emergency medical professionals to practice what would happen from the first moments of an emergency through the arrival and transition to professional care.
In a real cardiac emergency, there may be no warning and no time to figure out what comes next. Through Project ADAM, Lake Hamilton employees have practiced those critical first moments so they are prepared to act quickly, confidently and together.
It is training the district hopes will never have to be used — but preparation that could one day help save a life.