SIDNEY, Ne. --Two Sidney schools have received the Heart Safe Designation for their emergency readiness.

Sidney Public Schools, in collaboration with Children's Nebraska, announced that Central and South Elementary schools have received a Heart Safe designation through Project ADAM, a program that ensures schools have automated defibrillator (AED) equipment, response training and advanced emergency preparedness procedures in the event of a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) on campus.

Children's Project ADAM program partners with schools and organizations statewide to encourage preparedness for an emergency situation and save lives. Michelle Onstott, a Registered Nurse for Central and South Elementary Schools, expressed her pride with the recent achievement of Heart Safe School certification through Project Adam and Children’s Nebraska Hospital.

"This accomplishment, which took a year to achieve, involved installing an AED at each school site, strict adherence to various requirements, and providing comprehensive training for our staff. I'm especially proud that nearly 75% of our staff were certified in CPR and AED use during the 2024-25 school year. It is incredibly rewarding to see our hard work contribute to the safety of our students, staff, and visitors," she stated.

Project ADAM (Automated Defibrillators in Adam's Memory) was named for Adam Lemel, a 17-year-old Wisconsin teenager who suffered a fatal sudden cardiac arrest in 1999 while playing basketball at school. Access to an AED and immediate care could have saved Adam's life. Project ADAM's Heart Safe School program ensures schools and organizations have well-maintained AEDs available on site, CPR- and AED-trained staff and a practiced emergency plan to respond to a collapse, giving students, staff and community visitors the best possible chance to survive an unexpected cardiac event.

Children's, the region's only hospital dedicated exclusively to serving children and teens, was designated a Project ADAM affiliate hospital in 2022 and has welcomed more than 250 schools and organizations in Nebraska with Heart Safe designations to date. Matt Sorensen, M.D., an electrophysiologist and member of Children's Cardiac Care team, serves as the local medical director for Project ADAM. The initiative marks a strategic investment to align Children's cardiac experts as an important resource for community schools and is a collaboration between Children's Cross Heart Center and Community Health & Advocacy teams.

"Project ADAM is a nationwide, collaborative effort to improve the safety of our schools and community and help them achieve preparedness for an unexpected cardiac event, and we are proud to serve as an affiliate hospital of this exceptional program, " Dr. Sorensen said. "Becoming Heart Safe reflects an exemplary commitment to the health and safety of people of all ages across our communities. Each school and organization is key to these efforts, and we look forward to seeing the continued growth of the Heart Safe program and Project ADAM's reach across the state and region."

Learn more about Children's Project ADAM program at ChildrensNebraska.org/ ProjectADAM and the national Project ADAM program at ProjectADAM.com