Loveland, Ohio – “Project Adam” Heart Safe Schools have now been established at Loveland Early Childhood Center, Loveland Primary School, and Loveland Elementary School. This certification indicates that the campuses have the procedures, tools, and training necessary to guarantee a prompt reaction in the event of an unexpected cardiac attack.

The whole Loveland City School District now holds the classification, joining previously certified Loveland Intermediate School, Loveland Middle School, and Loveland High School.

According to the district, Loveland is just the second district in the region to get district-wide Project Adam certification. Loveland said it was made possible by the building leadership and nursing staff. They also said they are lucky to have a great relationship with the Loveland-Symmes Fire Department and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

In July of 2024, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed House Bill 47. The law required automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to be placed in every public and chartered nonpublic school in Ohio, as well as all municipally owned or operated sports and recreation locations.

It also required schools to adopt emergency action plans for the use of automated external defibrillator devices (AEDs) and practice these plans quarterly, among other provisions.

At the time Dewine signed the bill, Loveland High School Athletic Director Jayson Bruce told Loveland Magazine, “We have been extremely blessed to have been way ahead of this for many years here in Loveland. As a matter of fact, Loveland High, Middle and Intermediate schools are all certified as Heart Safe schools through Project ADAM. And as part of this certification, we had to create and execute plans to respond to heart emergencies. A huge part of these plans are the AED’s. Our High School and Middle/Intermediate school campuses are extremely well equipped with AED’s for not only the school day, but all of our athletic teams. The number one priority is and always will be safety. We are blessed to be able to provide access to AED’s to all of our sports teams.”

Bruce said that on the High School campus their trainers have an AED with them at all times. There is also an AED mounted on the outside of the team room at Loveland High School Stadium. At Loveland High School, they have AED’s mounted outside of the gyms and the workout facility. Bruce added, “We also have backpack units that go along with our teams that train or participate off campus, like cross country, etc.”

The Loveland Middle and Intermediate school campus is very similar to the High School. “We have AED’s mounted directly outside of each gym. The trainer, who is at football practices and games, always has an AED with them. Since we have teams that practice off campus as well, we send them with AED’s,” Bruce said.

Loveland City Manager Dave Kennedy told Loveland Magazine at the time that there is an AED at the Loveland Bike Trail next to the town clock at West Loveland Avenue and Railroad Avenue, Phillips Park, and McCoy Park. “We have cameras protecting the AED’s and if the alarms go off when accessed, the communication center will see them first hand.”

Photos by Loveland Schools

Project ADAM began in 1999 after the death of Adam Lemel, a 17-year-old Whitefish Bay, WI, high school student who collapsed and died while playing basketball. Adam suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), in which ventricular fibrillation occurred, a condition in which the ventricles cannot pump blood into the body. Defibrillation, or an AED, could have saved his life. Adam’s parents, Patty Lemel and Joe Lemel, collaborated with Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin to create this program in Adam’s memory.

In this video, learn a father’s perspective on the journey and importance of Project ADAM and the program mission to save lives.
Project ADAM began in 1999 after the death of Adam Lemel, a 17-year-old Whitefish Bay, WI, high school student who collapsed and died while playing basketball after he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Project ADAM (Automated Defibrillators in Adam’s Memory) aims to prevent sudden cardiac death through helping schools and communities implement life-saving programs to maintain a practiced CPR/AED program and people confident to take action.

Implementing a Heart Safe School Program