Project ADAM

Project ADAM^® History

Project ADAM^® (Automated Defibrillators in Adam's Memory) is a national, non-profit organization committed to saving lives through advocacy, education, preparedness and collaboration to prevent sudden cardiac death. Focused prevention training and education ensure schools and communities are equipped and trained to prevent sudden cardiac death.

Project ADAM began in 1999 after a series of sudden deaths among high school athletes in Wisconsin and Georgia. Many of these deaths appeared to be due to ventricular fibrillation – heart arrest caused by abnormal, sustained electrical stimulation of the heart muscle. Project ADAM began after Adam Lemel, a 17-year-old Whitefish Bay, WI, high school student, collapsed and died while playing basketball. Adam's parents, Patty Lemel-Clanton and Joe Lemel collaborated with Children's Hospital of Wisconsin and the Herma Heart Center to create this program in Adam's memory.

Learn how Project ADAM is part of pediatric hospitals across the nation