From left, Kalleigh Bailey, Bella Schilling, Tyler Hartline, Jason Schob, Brenden Huck, Andy Schob, Angie Henniger, Ally Bates and Lacey Wickham celebrate Fort Frye High School's Project ADAM Heart Safe School Designation. (Photo provided)

Fort Frye Local Schools has joined a nationwide initiative aimed at improving emergency response to sudden cardiac arrest, expanding access to lifesaving equipment and training staff across the district.

The district recently partnered with Project ADAM, a program led by Nationwide Children’s Hospital, to become a designated “Heart Safe” school system. The effort includes increasing the number of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), conducting staff training and establishing rapid-response protocols.

School nurse Lacey Wickham said the program was inspired by the story behind Project ADAM, which was created after a student collapsed during a basketball game and did not survive. Organizers believed access to an AED within the first few minutes could have saved his life.

“So that’s kind of where the name Project ADAM comes from,” Wickham said. “We worked together … and went over how to respond and what to do in situations like this, and the locations of the AEDs … so that way, if ever I’m not there … they feel confident of how to respond.”

As part of the initiative, Wickham coordinated with district staff to form response teams at each school, training teachers, coaches, administrators and support staff in CPR and emergency procedures. Each building now has at least five trained responders, with larger schools having additional personnel.

From left, Lacey Wickham, Emily Klinger, Ericka Schneider, Kelly Henrix, Krista Ross and Matt Blair celebrate Salem-Liberty Elementary School's designation as a Project ADAM Heart Safe School. (Photo provided)

The district currently has 13 AEDs, including two in each school and three located at athletic facilities. Wickham said an outdoor, temperature-controlled AED cabinet is also being installed at the football field to ensure public access during after-school hours.

“With us being in a rural area, things like this are so, so important,” she said, noting that longer emergency response times can make immediate intervention critical.

According to the district, the program emphasizes delivering a defibrillation shock within three minutes of a cardiac event. Wickham said all school teams met that benchmark during drills.

“One of the things with the drills was they wanted to make sure that the initial shock … was within three minutes, and all five of our teams more than met that goal,” she said.

According to a release from the district, nationally, about 356,000 adults and 23,000 children experience out-of-hospital cardiac arrest each year. Survival rates remain low, but early CPR and AED use can significantly improve outcomes, according to information provided by the district.

Superintendent Stephanie Starcher said the program strengthens the district’s broader safety efforts.

“Fort Frye shows a lot of initiative in its wellness and safety program,” Starcher said in a statement. “This allows every one of our schools to have a very thorough plan for addressing sudden cardiac arrest. All of our schools and athletic complexes are equipped with AEDs.”

The release said participation in Project ADAM aligns Fort Frye with hundreds of schools nationwide working to improve preparedness for life-threatening emergencies and provide the best possible chance of survival in the event of cardiac arrest.