Kewanee High School and school district staff display the banner showing the school’s “Heart Safe School” designation. From left are Resource Officer Shaun Gruszeczka, Superintendent Rebecca Baney, School Nurse Tara Hewitt, Principal Amanda Tidwell, Districtwide Nurse Practitioner Anna Slover, Athletic Director Tim Atwell, and Dean of Students Cody Butler. [Photo courtesy of Kewanee High School]

***Jacie Hinton is a participant of The Kewanee Voice Student Journalism Program, funded by the Harry Anderson Memorial Trust.

AEDs, or “Automated External Defibrillators,” can be the difference between life and death. 

Kewanee School District 229 recognized this reality and took action, recently training staff in each of its six buildings through Project ADAM.

Project ADAM started in 1999 after a high school student went into cardiac arrest and passed away. The student may have survived if bystanders had access to an AED. 

Districtwide Nurse Practitioner Anna Slover and Supt. Rebecca Baney understood the value of Project ADAM and completed the training necessary to make every building in the district “Heart Safe.”

“The best way to increase the chances of survival after a sudden cardiac arrest is to immediately begin CPR and apply an AED in less than three minutes,” Slover said.

When Baney shared information about Project ADAM with the district’s nurses, Slover wanted to learn more.

“As nurses, we are always looking for ways to make our schools a safer place for everyone that enters them, so this was the perfect opportunity,” said Slover.

Becoming a Heart Safe school is a long, involved process. Thanks to the school district’s connections with the Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago and Irving School’s own school nurse, Tara DeBlieck, the district was able to navigate the application process and obtain life-saving resources.

Slover appreciates the district’s investment in additional training and preparedness and plans to complete drills with staff at least once a year. 

“It’s truly amazing that every one of the schools within our district has an AED within three minutes of every corner of the building. In a medical emergency, preparation is key. A sudden cardiac arrest can be a very stressful situation,” Slover said. 

“If we are prepared then we will know exactly what to do, increasing chances of survival. We have an amazing group of nurses here that each work tirelessly for our students,” she continued.

Slover encourages other schools and community members to complete Project ADAM training and is happy to help others along the way.

To Slover, “becoming a Heart Safe school is an ongoing commitment to equip, prepare, practice and work together to respond to a sudden cardiac arrest,” a designation that matters because the training behind it “could save a life.”