Project ADAM Indiana

Project ADAM Indiana is committed to helping schools, athletic programs, and community sites become Heart Safe by providing the tools, resources and guidance needed to respond to sudden cardiac arrest.

About Project ADAM

Project ADAM (Automated Defibrillators in Adam’s Memory) is a national organization that helps communities prepare and respond to sudden cardiac arrest with the goal of saving lives.

Riley Children’s Health is an affiliate site focused on supporting Project ADAM through training and education so that schools and communities are equipped for sudden cardiac arrest.

What is Sudden Cardiac Arrest?

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is when the heart stops suddenly and without warning, leading to a loss of consciousness and sometimes death. SCA is often the result of an electrical problem that disrupts the heart’s rhythm, and that disruption eventually stops the heart from beating.

SCA Blog — Causes of cardiac arrest in children and what to do when it happens

Understand the proper causes, symptoms and actions that are important

Sudden Cardiac Arrest by the Numbers

The following statistics are from the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation.

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) annually

356,000

Nearly 90% of them fatal

Incidence of EMS-assessed OHCA in children

7,037

Based on Resuscitation Outcomes Consortium (ROC) data in 2015

Incidents that happen at home

Based on Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) data, in 2020, the location of OHCA in children was most often home (87.5%), followed by a public place (12.2%).

Survival to hospital discharge

Survival to hospital discharge was 6.5% for 1,366 children < 1 year of age, 14.4% for 880 children 1-12 years of age, and 21.2% for 736 children 13-18 years of age (CARES 2020).

Ready to Become a Project ADAM Heart Safe School?

Follow these steps:

Contact Project ADAM Indiana at projectadam@iuhealth.org.
A meeting will be scheduled to learn more about your needs.
We will lead your program through the Heart Safe checklist.
After successful completion of a cardiac emergency response drill, Heart Safe designation will be awarded to your program through Project ADAM Indiana.

What it Means to be a Heart Safe Program

The following information is from Project ADAM.

Heart Safe School: Project ADAM Heart Safe School Designation is attained by schools upon successful implementation of a quality sudden cardiac arrest program of awareness, training and effective emergency response to promote a Heart Safe environment for students, visitors, and staff as outlined within the Heart Safe School Checklist.

Riley Children’s has helped more than 70 schools and counting become heart safe.

Heart Safe Youth Sports Program: A Project ADAM Heart Safe Youth Sports Program demonstrates they are prepared for a cardiac emergency by ensuring athletes, coaches, referees and spectators have access to AEDs, people trained in CPR/AED and a practice plan.

Heart Safe Community Site Program: A Project ADAM Heart Safe Community Site has successfully implemented a quality sudden cardiac arrest program of awareness, training and effective emergency response to promote a safe environment for students, visitors and staff.

Contact Riley Children’s to become a Heart Safe program

For more information or questions on how your school, youth sports program, or community site can be become Heart Safe, contact projectadam@iuhealth.org.

Project ADAM National Conference

While Project ADAM Indiana focuses on the heart health of Indiana children, our affiliate program is actively leading research and discussion on how to advance sudden cardiac death prevention and response plans across the nation. Most recently, at the 2025 Project ADAM National Conference, Riley Children’s discussed ideas and successes for the national initiative.

At the conference, Dr. Adam Kean and other researchers presented “School Characteristics and Adoption of Cardiac Arrest Emergency Response Plans.” The aim being to propose a multi-center initiative with Project ADAM affiliates to better understand SCA preparedness disparities in schools.

Dr. Kean also served as a breakout session moderator, guiding a discussion about building a successful Project ADAM affiliate program with a focus on the first four years.

Project ADAM in the News

Video: Plymouth schools take part in the Project ADAM Advisor for Indiana – Nov. 13, 2025 Three schools in Plymouth achieved Project ADAM heart safe designation. These schools include Riverside, Menominee Elementary, and Plymouth High School.
Video: New Prairie student uses CPR learned in class to save a life - July 10, 2025 New Prairie High School student Valeria Markiewicz was dining at a Texas Roadhouse in South Bend when she noticed a worker choking. She stepped in to save his life when no one else knew what to do.
New Indiana law requires automated external defibrillators at school events - July 8, 2025 State holds ceremony for law that requires AEDs in all Indiana schools.
Hoosier moms raise awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest to honor their late sons - Feb. 20, 2023 Two moms are on a mission to make sure no other moms have to experience the deaths of their children from Sudden Cardiac Arrest.
Two New Carlisle schools receive ‘Heart Safe School Designation’ - Feb. 10, 2023 New Prairie Middle School and Rolling Prairie Elementary School are the newest 'Heart Safe Designated Schools' in Indiana, following in the footsteps of the High School.