Ripon Area Schools Are Heart Safe
18 July 2019 News
(In the photo: Michelle Ries representing the Foundation for RMC, Tracy Haugen Project ADAM Representative Children’s Hospital, Carry Mathias District LPN, Randy Hatlen RHS Principal, Bonnie Fischer District Nurse, Gary Rodman Board of Education President.)
Ripon, WI -The Ripon Area School District was recognized as having Heart Safe Schools Status by Project ADAM (Automated Defibrillators in Adam’s Memory) at the July 15 Board of Education meeting. Seven schools in the District were given the Heart Safe Status: Barlow Park Elementary, Journey Charter School, Murray Park Elementary, Quest Elementary, Ripon Middle School, Catalyst Charter School, and Ripon High School.
In 1999, 17-year-old Adam Lemel was playing basketball in Whitefish Bay, WI, when he collapsed and died. Adam suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, meaning his heart suddenly stopped pumping blood to the rest of his body. His life may have been saved through the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED), but one was not available that day. Adam’s parents, Patty Lemel-Clanton and Joe Lemel, collaborated with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin to create this program in Adam’s memory. The mission of Project ADAM is to save lives by empowering schools and communities to be prepared for a sudden cardiac arrest with the vision to eradicate sudden cardiac death through school and community prevention. (ProjectAdam Heartsafe School Manual, 2019)
There were many requirements for the District to meet the qualifications of Heart Safe School Designation. Major items on the designation checklist included (but not limited to), all staff annual awareness training on the signs and symptoms of sudden cardiac arrest, improvement of AED signage, emergency teams designated and trained to respond to medical emergencies, cardiac emergency response plans, and sudden cardiac arrest drills at each
building.
While many staff were already trained, the district health services team provided additional staff with CPR/AED/first aid certification. The school district’s CPR supplies, AED trainers, and manikins were in need of updating. The Foundation for Ripon Medical Center (RMC) and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin generously gave financial donations to aid with the needs of the district’s CPR/AED training supplies needed for certification of staff and the required drills for each building, AED training units, and finances needed for the additional staff hours required for CPR/AED/first aid certification.
Medical emergency drills were completed in each of the Heart Safe School buildings.
Fond du lac County 911 dispatchers were notified, and the Ripon Police and Ambulance crews responded to each of the drills. Their response to the drills was very helpful to give staff an idea of how long CPR would need to be done by staff while EMS were en route. The involvement of the emergency responders in the community was crucial not only to know the time frame to expect EMS to arrive, but they also provided additional education to staff after arrival. The Police and Ambulance staff provided feedback to school staff about what information they would want school staff to tell them when they arrive at the scene. They also shared the procedures school staff might expect to see once emergency staff began care for the
victim.
The district if grateful for the generosity and support of the community, the RMC Foundation, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, and the extra efforts made by school staff and administration to achieve Heart Safe Status.
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