Portage High School is getting recognized for its efforts to lower the risk of sudden cardiac arrest. It's been designated a Heart Safe School by the non-profit group Project ADAM.
To qualify, the school had to have a cardiac emergency response plan, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in accessible locations, staff training in CPR and AED use, and response drills.
While AEDs can greatly improve survival rates, 41 percent of the high schools that responded to a state survey last year had fewer than four, according to Side Effects Public Media. And about a quarter lacked a response plan.
Portage Township Schools Director of Health Services Megan Clay said in a press release that the district has installed more AEDs in all its schools and equipped AED cabinets with Narcan. Now, Clay plans to help the rest of the district's schools earn Heart Safe designations, as well.
