FIVE LEADING THE WAY. WELL, AFTER AN ELEMENTARY STUDENT WENT INTO CARDIAC ARREST, THE SOUTHWEST LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICT TEAMED UP WITH CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S TO BECOME HEART SAFE. THAT’S RIGHT. IT’S NOW THE FIRST DISTRICT IN THE TRI STATE TO EARN THAT CERTIFICATION. WLWT NEWS FIVE’S LINDSAY STONE JOINS US WITH A CLOSER LOOK AT THIS PROCESS. HEY, LINDSAY. AND IT REALLY IS A PROCESS. GUYS, THIS IS A COUPLE OF STEPS YOU HAVE TO TAKE, AND THEY’RE NOT EASY. SEVERAL OF THOSE STEPS TO BECOME HEART CERTIFIED LOOKS LIKE THIS. TO GET ONE OF THEM, YOU HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SEE HOW QUICKLY YOU CAN GET TO AN AED. SO AT ANY LOCATION IN THE SCHOOL, YOU MUST BE ABLE TO GET TO AN AED AND BACK IN UNDER TWO MINUTES. IT’S ONE OF MANY TESTS EVERY SCHOOL IN THE DISTRICT HAD TO PASS TO BECOME THE FIRST HEART SAFE DISTRICT IN THE TRI STATE. AN ORDINARY DAY IN THE CLASSROOM AT HARRISON ELEMENTARY TOOK A TURN IN OCTOBER OF 2022. WE HAD A STUDENT THAT HAD A CARDIAC EVENT AND WE WERE VERY, INCREDIBLY LUCKY THAT WE HAD EXPERIENCED NURSES AND STAFF MEMBERS THAT TOOK PLACE IN THE GYM AND THEY WERE ABLE TO GET AND PROVIDE CARE IMMEDIATELY. ULTIMATELY BEING A BIG PART OF SAVING THE CHILD’S LIFE. HARRISON JUNIOR HIGH PRINCIPAL CHRISTIAN TRACY SAYS A SCARY ORDEAL SPARKED CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW TO BE MORE PREPARED SHOULD ANOTHER EMERGENCY OCCUR. WE MUST DO SOME THINGS TO MAKE SURE IF THAT HAPPENED ANYWHERE, THAT WE ARE WELL PREPARED AND READY TO GO, THE SOUTHWEST SCHOOL DISTRICT PARTNERED WITH CINCINNATI CHILDREN’S TO BECOME HEART SAFE THROUGH PROJECT ADAM, NAMED AFTER A TEEN WHO DIED WHILE PLAYING BASKETBALL. A HEART SAFE IS THE DESIGNATION THAT THE PROJECT ADAM UH, PHILOSOPHY GOES BY. AND WHAT THAT IS, WE GO IN AND WE WORK WITH YOU TO TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE CORRECT NUMBER OF AEDS, THAT YOU HAVE AN EMERGENCY ACTION PLAN IN PLACE. WE STARTED WITH FOCUSING ON HARRISON ELEMENTARY, WHERE THIS INITIAL CRISIS OCCURRED. BUT THEN THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE DISTRICT, WE HAD TO GO THROUGH EVALUATING WHAT WERE THE NEEDS, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAD PEOPLE TRAINED, STAFF COMPLETED CPR TRAINING AND ADDITIONAL AEDS WERE PLACED AT THE SCHOOLS. THE MOST INTENSE PART IS ACTUALLY COME IN AND YOU RUN A FULL SCALE DRILL WHERE THEY BRING IN A MANNEQUIN AND THEY THROW IT INTO A CLASSROOM AND YOU TREAT IT AS A LIVE ACT WITH KIDS AND EVERYBODY INVOLVED, AND EVERYBODY LEARNS HOW TO REACT. THE CERTIFICATION TOOK AROUND A YEAR TO COMPLETE, WILL BE THE FIRST SCHOOL DISTRICT AS AN ENTIRE DISTRICT TO EARN THE PROJECT ADAM CERTIFICATION, AND TO SEE THE RECOGNITION AS A PRINCIPAL MAKES ME INCREDIBLY PROUD. 11 SCHOOLS WITHIN THE AREA ARE CERTIFIED HEART SAFE, BUT TRACY HOPES OTHERS WILL FOLLOW SUIT. WHEN YOU TALK SAFETY, THERE’S IT’S GOT TO BE A PRIORITY AND OUR DISTRICT HAS WALKED THE WALK OF THAT, AND I HOPE OTHER DISTRICTS FOLLOW SUIT. THE DISTRICT WAS ABLE TO PAY FOR THAT TRAINING AND THE CERTIFICATION THROUGH GRANTS, AND ALSO SOME STATE FUNDING. IF YOU’D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT PROJECT ADAM AND HOW TO MAKE YOUR SCHOOL SAFER, HEAD TO OUR WEBSITE