LANSING, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – Twenty of the 125 schools that earned MI HEARTSafe designation on Thursday came from the Lakeshore.
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the Michigan Department of Education, the American Heart Association, the Michigan High School Athletic Association and the Michigan Alliance for Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death of the Young, the following schools performed at least one cardiac emergency response drill during the past academic year, as well as having a number of other requirements:
Allendale middle and high schools; Baker Elementary School; Coopersville High School; Dorr Elementary School; Evergreen/Springview Elementary School; Fennville elementary, middle and high schools; Holland High School; Holland Christian High School; Oakwood Intermediate School; Pine Street Elementary School; Plainwell High School; Pullman Elementary School; Saugatuck middle and high schools; Steeby Elementary School; Wayland Union middle and high schools; and Woodside Elementary Schools.
The designation will run through 2019 for a majority of these schools. The program, which now has 369 buildings involved, began three years ago after a state law was enacted that requires all K-12 schools to have a cardiac emergency plan in place, and last year, a new law requires CPR and AED instruction for students in grades seven through 12.
Dealing with cardiac issues among students has been highlighted along the Lakeshore ever since the March 3, 2011 sudden death of Fennville High star Wes Leonard moments after a basketball game. The Wes Leonard Heart Team, among other organizations, have been working on installing working AED machines in schools across Michigan.
