Bettendorf Community School District is on its way to becoming a Heart-Safe School District through the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital and Project ADAM: Iowa Heartland.

Project ADAM helps schools nationwide implement programs to make Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) readily available by preparing schools for a cardiac emergency through emergency response plans, staff CPR and AED training, and sudden cardiac arrest awareness education.

Becoming a Heart Safe School is another way to keep the students and staff safe. Statistically, about 7,000 children and adolescents in the United States experience sudden cardiac arrest each year.

Program coordinators at UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital provided initial phone reviews, written reviews of the schools’ current cardiac emergency action plan (EAP), and an on-site emergency drill at each school in cooperation with Medic EMS and the Bettendorf Fire Department.

A comprehensive EAP may save the life of a student, staff member, parent, or visitor who experiences sudden cardiac arrest.

There are 16 schools in Iowa participating in Project Adam. Six are Bettendorf Schools: Bettendorf High School, Edison Academy, Grant Wood Elementary, Mark Twain, Neil Armstrong, Paul Norton Elementary. Bettendorf Middle School and Herbert Hoover Elementary will be working on their designation in the near future. #BettPride #BETTerTogether