By Kate Marino 

Project ADAM at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU has marked a significant milestone – designating 136 Virginia schools and counting as heart safe. Through the free program, a team at the hospital helps schools ensure they are prepared to care for students, faculty, staff and visitors who may experience a sudden cardiac arrest on campus.  

Implementing Project ADAM in Virginia 

Project ADAM, which stands for Automated Defibrillation in Adam’s Memory, is a national non-profit committed to saving lives through advocacy, education, preparedness and collaboration. It was developed in memory of Wisconsin teen Adam Lemel, who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, collapsed and died while playing basketball in 1999.  

John Phillips, M.D., pediatric cardiologist and electrophysiologist, launched the first and only Project ADAM affiliate in Virginia at CHoR in 2022 and serves as the program’s medical director. With 20% of a community’s residents on school property for educational and extracurricular activities each week, focused preparation in these environments can have a monumental impact. 

“Most sudden cardiac arrests that happen outside the hospital – in fact, approximately 90% – are fatal,” Phillips said. “Every minute matters, so with trained responders and proper equipment in place to address these emergencies promptly, we can lower this number significantly.” 

This equipment includes automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, which are portable medical devices that can analyze a person’s heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock to restore a normal heartbeat. 

Each school must meet 12 criteria to achieve designation as a Project ADAM heart safe school, including having on-site AEDs and school employees certified in CPR/AED cardiac emergency response, educating the entire staff about the program and emergency response plan, and conducting sudden cardiac arrest drills.  

To date, the designated schools span the commonwealth, with Bedford and Washington Counties the first to have all their public schools designated. The full list of designated schools, which educate more than 112,000 students, can be found on the CHoR website. 

“On average, it takes a school 7 months to complete the designation checklist,” said Lexi White, Project ADAM program coordinator at CHoR. “Our collaboration with the Office of Emergency Medical Services, Virginia Association of School Nurses and Virginia Department of Education has been essential when implementing the program throughout the state.” 

"The Project ADAM heart safe school designation has significantly strengthened student and staff safety across our school division. Implementation was seamless due to strong buy-in from all stakeholders who shared a common goal of creating a safer school community,” said Heather Snyder, coordinator of the Office of Student Health Services in Chesterfield County. “While many requirements were already in place, the process highlighted key areas for improvement, including AED signage and visibility. This initiative fostered collaboration among school nurses, administrators and staff, and strengthened our partnerships with county Fire and EMS — creating a more connected and prepared school community." 

The impetus behind and impact of Project ADAM 

There are approximately 350,000 sudden cardiac arrests in the U.S. each year. As more and more schools take the steps to become heart safe, Virginia’s parents, teachers, school nurses and administrators can rest easier knowing they are prepared should one of these emergencies arise. 

“As a parent of two kids with heart conditions, it makes me feel so much more comfortable. As a teacher, it makes me feel more confident in my classroom,” said Jenny Brady, a teacher and parent of students in Project ADAM designated schools in Chesterfield County. “Even though teachers go through CPR training every 10 years for our licensure, I think I speak for a lot of people not in health care when saying that it's still very intimidating. Knowing that the schools have safeguards in place really brings a lot of peace.” 

Over the years, Project ADAM has helped save more than 200 lives in schools across the country. 

“Our role as a children's hospital includes caring for families in our hospitals and clinics, as well as creating healthier communities outside our walls. Project ADAM is a key way we are doing this,” Phillips said. 

CHoR’s Project ADAM team also works with sports programs and community groups to ensure they are prepared to properly respond during the first critical minutes after a sudden cardiac arrest. 

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