Nurse Emme Moore recently met with school members to introduce Project ADAM. Project ADAM is an organization that works with schools and community groups to ensure that practices, protocols, equipment, and personnel are in place to respond to cardiac emergencies.
During the December Early Release Day, Moore conducted training for all school corporation staff on cardiac arrest, CPR, and AEDs, and invited all staff to a multimedia lecture and a hands-on CPR review. Then, they held a cardiac emergency drill with the Cardiac Emergency Response Team (CERT) members from each building. CERT members met afterward to debrief on drills and plan for a certification site visit by Project ADAM representatives.
Project ADAM began early planning at the beginning of 2025. When Nurse Moore and Jamie Walker, School Nurse Liaison for Orange County, began discussing the process for Project ADAM.
“We have representatives in Indiana that we’re working with, and they are helping us work through the criteria to become Project ADAM certified. If we get certified, then we’ll become a heart-safe school, and we’ll have that education through Project ADAM,” said Moore.
A significant part of the program is the use of AED equipment.
“AEDs are essential to saving a life during a cardiac emergency. So a big part of Project ADAM is making sure that you have all the appropriate equipment and it’s in working order, and that everyone is trained to use it,” said Moore.
Moore began this process by visiting the Project ADAM website and reviewing a checklist that guided it. Our school already had many of these things in place, including AEDs and emergency action plans.
“Project ADAM is something that matters to our school. All of our students should know where our AEDs are located. They should also know that we have a planned response to a cardiac emergency and that, during an emergency, they should remain calm and do only exactly what staff members instruct them to do.
