LOCAL
TEEN RECEIVES NATIONAL H.E.R.O. AWARD
MILWAUKEE
- Homestead High School Graduate David Ellis, 18, recently received
the national Health Education Recognition Objective (H.E.R.O.) Award
for bringing public access defibrillation to his high school and
launching Project A.D.A.M.
The H.E.R.O. Award was presented by School Health Corporation, the
leading provider of school health supplies in the nation.
Ellis founded Project A.D.A.M. (Automatic Defibrillators in Adam's
Memory) after his close friend, Adam Lemel, died of sudden cardiac
arrest while playing high school basketball in January 1999. Project
A.D.A.M. aims to bring CPR training and public access defibrillation
to all Wisconsin high schools. It is now an entity within Children's
Hospital of Wisconsin.
"David has championed the cause of public access defibrillation,"
said Susan Rogers, president of School Health Corporation. "Because
of David's efforts, a high school athlete, spectator or faculty
member who experiences sudden cardiac arrest may have a second chance
at life."
Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when the heart abruptly stops beating.
This most often results from a disturbance in the heart's electrical
activity, which causes it to quiver
uncontrollably and renders it unable to efficiently pump blood.
Nearly 1,000 Americans die of sudden cardiac arrest each day according
to the American Heart Association.
Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) can convert the heart's
irregular electrical activity into a normal rhythm, allowing the
heart to pump normally after a cardiac arrest. For each minute that
passes without defibrillation, a cardiac arrest victim's chance
of survival decreases seven to 10 percent. For this reason, public
health advocates, including the American Heart Association, nurses,
cardiologists and even President Clinton recommend that AEDs be
readily accessible wherever large groups of people congregate.
Ellis is one of two individuals honored with the H.E.R.O. Award.
The other H.E.R.O. recipient is Pediatric Cardiologist Stuart Berger
M.D., medical director of both Project A.D.A.M. and the Heart Center
of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
Ellis resides in Mequon, Wis., with his parents, Dean and Wendy
Ellis. He also has two brothers, Jonathan, 23, and Michael,11. This
fall he plans to attend Emory University in Atlanta where he will
study pre-medicine.
Founded in 1950, School Health Corporation achieved success in the industry
by focusing on the needs of its customers and by broadening its product
line to include a wide
variety of medical supplies. Located in Hanover Park, Ill., School Health
Corporation has a 50,000 square-foot brick and mortar facility well equipped
to fulfill orders made through its Web site, healthgiant.com, and through
its printed catalogs.
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