Every year, approximately 2,000 seemingly healthy people under the age of 25 die from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), a tragic statistic that Cook Children's Health Care System is working to change.

In recognition of National Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month this October, Cook Children's is highlighting its year-round commitment to ensure schools and communities are prepared for such a medical emergency through its Project ADAM program, which provides life-saving training and resources.

Sudden Cardiac Arrest occurs when the heart stops beating, which leads to loss of breath or irregular breathing and prevents blood flow to the brain and other vital organs.

“With the proper training, anyone can do CPR and use an AED, and with enough of us trained and empowered to do so, we have the ability to potentially save someone’s life,” said Sarah Thieroff, Project Adam Program Coordinator.

Project ADAM (Automated Defibrillators in Adam's Memory) is a program named after 17-year-old Adam Lemel. In 1999, while playing high school basketball, Lemel collapsed and went into Sudden Cardiac Arrest. His family learned that he could have been saved with the right preparation and equipment. An automated external defibrillator (AED) was not available. His parents helped start the Project ADAM program at the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in his memory. Cook Children’s was the first in Texas and is now one of 52 hospitals and program sites to provide free cardiac resources, including training and AED devices. 

Thieroff recalled the motivating force behind the program's founding: "What we learned now is that Adam could have had a chance. I was faced with a choice. I couldn't save my son, but maybe I can save yours," Adam's father said.

More than 780 schools and 28 school districts are recognized to be Heart Safe. A designated Heart Safe school and district have completed a quality AED training program that includes a CPR/AED trained emergency team, an emergency plan for their AED and required AED drills.

“Knowledge of what to do, and muscle memory from practicing the appropriate steps may correspond to earlier action and in turn lead to a more successful outcome,” said Danielle Moyé, M.D., at Cook Children’s Heart Center.

Beginning the 2026-2027 school year under Senate Bill 865, also known as the Landon Payton Act, public and private schools will be required to implement a cardiac emergency response plan, mandate CPR and AED certification for specific school employees and volunteers, and require drills to test their emergency response.

“With the SB 865 bill, we have legislative support to encourage schools to act now and prepare,” said Dr. Moyé. “And we are ready to help them. We are here and happy to walk through what this looks like and ease some of the burden from the school’s administration, nursing team, and district.”

An AED is supported by the FDA to detect ventricular fibrillation. It has been designed and tested in both children and adults. Cardiac arrest is reversible in most victims if it is treated within a few minutes with an electric shock to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat. This process is called defibrillation. A shock delivered by an AED within 3-5 minutes can save a life and for every minute that passes, survival rates drop by 10%.

Through the Cook Children’s Project ADAM program, anyone can be trained. The program provides schools across Texas with the necessary tools and education to plan and develop their public access defibrillation (PAD) program.

“The expectation is that schools will be prepared for if it happens, not just putting it off or waiting to establish an emergency team, plan and/or drill if/when it happens,” explained Thieroff.

Signs and Symptoms of Sudden Cardiac Arrest

• Not breathing or irregular breathing (i.e. agonal gasps)
• Unresponsive and/or sometimes there are “seizure-like” movements.
• If someone witnesses a collapse:
  • Check for responsiveness.
  • Tap/lightly shake the person and ask if they’re okay, then if they’re not responsive, call for help/have someone call 911 immediately
  • Send someone to get the AED. If they’re unsure where the AED is, when they call 911, the 911 dispatcher should tell them the location of the nearest registered AED in the area.

Cook Children’s provides free Hands Only CPR/AED training, cardiac emergency response planning, and AED drill assistance to any school in Texas. Call 682-885-6755 or email ProjectAdamTexas@cookchildrens.org. For more information on free resources on the local Project ADAM program, visit www.projectadamtexas.org or the national Project ADAM page at www.projectadam.com

Those are deaths that can possibly prevented, and they're fueling the mission of a group of parents and doctors at Cook Children's Medical Center.

See the full story here. 

The situation unfolded on Oct. 13th of last year. Now, nearly four months later, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is using video from that game to stress the importance of life-saving training, which the hospital credits with saving Claire.

At Cook Children's Medical Center, there's an entire team devoted to making sure school nurses, teachers and staff know what to do if a student collapses. They're called Project ADAM, Automated Defibrillators in Adam’s Memory. Project ADAM helps schools implement a comprehensive plan to prevent sudden cardiac death. Part of the plan is to designate a team to write plans, conduct AED drills, and educate school staff on the warning signs and treatment of sudden cardiac death.

"We want to empower our school employees," said Laura Friend, Project ADAM Coordinator. "I always tell them 'Everyone is overqualified to do this. Anyone can save a life."

Friend spends at least three days a week traveling around the six-county region Cook Children's serves, teaching school staff how to do CPR and use an AED. From there, many nurses and athletic trainers go on to train the staff at their schools.

"A lot of people don't realize how easy it is. Every time I show a class the video of what CPR does for the brain, I hear people say 'Ohhh,'" said Friend.

The video Friend is speaking of outlines all of the steps needed to save a life in just under four minutes. It also shows how CPR keeps blood flowing to the brain, helping to prevent damage.

These steps even helped save a Keller ISD student recently.

According to the school district's website, a student at Timberview Middle School suffered a seizure and stopped breathing. Nurse Jane Danielson and the school's Code Red Team quickly sprang into action.

“I looked over afterward, noticing Mr. Morrow in a t-shirt. He had literally taken the shirt off his back to cover the student,” Danielson said. “Everyone stepped up in some way or another.”

Schools that complete the Project ADAM program are recognized as Texas Heart-Safe Schools.

For more information or AED training, please call 682-885-6755.

Administration from Azle ISD Health Services contacted Laura Friend, Cook Children’s Project ADAM coordinator, to help guide and support the school district with implementing an automated external defibrillator (AED) emergency action plan and staff training on the use of an AED and CPR. Training was provided in 2011 to school nurses, coaches and administrators.

Just in time to save a seventh grade football player’s life. Later that year, the player was revived on the field, using the AED, after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.

The AED proved invaluable again on March 28, 2014, when a teacher at Eagle Heights Elementary collapsed. In less than three minutes from the time the staff member collapsed, the Eagle Heights Emergency Response Team was on site administering CPR and the AED. The staff member responded to the treatment and was transported to a local hospital. Emergency room personnel and cardiac nurses commented that because of the response of Eagle Heights Emergency Response Team, a life was saved.

Cook Children’s Project ADAM provides schools in our state with training and implementing emergency action plans. Texas has a law requiring all schools to have an AED on campus. Most Texas schools have approximately 3 percent of their staff certified in CPR and AED use. 

“When schools have been trained and you have a plan in place, lives can be saved from sudden cardiac arrest," said Meagen Driskill, director of the Cook Children’s Heart Center. “The emergency plan and staff training are critical. Without a written plan and practicing how to respond to an emergency, you’ll have chaos. School-based CPR and AED programs establish a community of first responders. First responders improve the likelihood of survival for students, school staff and visitors with sudden cardiac arrest, and should be encouraged in all schools.”