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Project ADAM saving lives for 25 years
From saving lives to pushing for a state law requiring CPR and AED instruction in high schools, Project ADAM has been pumping through the nation for the past 25 years.
MILWAUKEE - From saving lives to pushing for a state law requiring CPR and AED instruction in high schools, Project ADAM has been pumping through the nation for the past 25 years.
25 years of Project ADAM
What we know:
Adam Lemel collapsed from a sudden cardiac arrest while playing basketball for Whitefish Bay High School at 17 years old.
Adam Lemel
His parents turned their pain into purpose.
"I got to learn he could have had a chance," said Joe Lemel, Adam's father.
The founding members of Project ADAM came together 25 years after its inception.
"It's such an incredible milestone from where we started," said Patty Clanton, Adam's mother.
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They shared the journey that helped Project ADAM evolve nationwide.
"Now in 2025, we have 52 affiliates in 35 states," said Dr. Anoop Singh, Project ADAM Medical Director, Wisconsin.
A conference in Milwaukee gathered those partners in one space. It also aimed to expand to all 50 states. The network is looking to overcome the obstacles of growing the ability to prevent a sudden death.
"We've also brought people in who talk about ways to try and detect heart problems before they've occurred," said Dr. Singh.
What is Project ADAM
Dig deeper:
The project stands for Automated Defibrillators in Adam's Memory. It started as a grassroots effort with Children's Wisconsin.
The community giveback program makes schools, youth sports groups, and community centers heart safe, by providing the necessary action plan and equipment. The project supports a call to action that being heart safe needs to be universal.
What they're saying:
"Making sure that schools and people are prepared to recognize sudden cardiac arrest, manage someone if they collapse, have a defibrillator close by," said Dr. Jonathan Drezner, UW Medicine Center for Sports Cardiology at UW.
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"There's no one that is protected from sudden cardiac arrest, and that really is our goal, to get in every school in every community," said Dr. English C. Flack, Project ADAM Medical Director, Tennessee.
Growing even after 25 years
What's next:
Project ADAM is now a member of the Smart Heart Sports Coalition. It is also on board with the effort to get legislation passed in all 50 states to make sure AEDs are available in all youth and athletic venues.
FOX6 is proud to partner with Project ADAM and enhance heart safety and awareness in our community.
The Source: Information in this post was provided by those associated with Project ADAM.