Karen Acompora, president of the Louis J. Acompora Memorial, told The Produce News that the organization continues its work with the Minnesota High School Athletic Association and the Medtronic Philanthropy Foundation, whose goal is to expand access to chronic disease care for the underserved around the world.

“A program called ‘Anyone Can Save a Life’ is a first of its kind emergency response program for after-school practices and events,” said Acompora. “The program is designed to save lives caused by sudden cardiac arrest, a leading cause of death among adult and student athletes nationwide.”

The organization's website is www.anyonecansavealife.org.

Louis J. Acompora Memorial donating to Nassau County PAL grant for AED’s Seaford High School CPR training. (Photo courtesy of Louis J. Acompora)The National Federation of State High School Associations has approved a grant to finance the “Anyone Can Save a Life” instruction manual being sent to every high school in the United States. Implementation begins when school begins in the fall.

“In addition to the emergency action instructional curriculum, the manual includes video content,” explained Acompora. “It is aimed toward athletes, parents, coaches and community members, such as athletic booster clubs, related to after school events.

“We’re also happy to report that the National Parent Teacher Association has adopted a national resolution to distribute information about AEDs and sudden cardiac arrest to parents.”

Acompora and her husband, John Acompora, a long-time employee of E. Armata Inc. at the Hunts Point Terminal Produce, began their work toward informing and educating the public about AEDs following the death of their son, Louis J. Acompora, in March 2000.

Playing goalie in a lacrosse game, the then 14-year-old Louis blocked what appeared to be a routine shot with his chest protector. He took a few steps and collapsed. Paramedics arrived with a defibrillator almost 15 minutes later, but were too late. His death was caused by a syndrome known as Commotio Cordis, which occurs from blunt impact trauma during the critical cycle in the rhythm of the heart.

The Acomporas, who were at the game, watched as attempts to save their son failed. They later learned that had there been an AED on hand, he would have lived.

Within a month the couple founded the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation, with the goal of raising awareness about the need for schools and other public places where youth congregate to be better prepared to respond to sudden cardiac arrest by having AEDs. Since, the organization’s work has expanded across the country and beyond borders.

Even more good has resulted from the Foundation. The “CPR/AED Education’” program was passed by the New York State Assembly and legislated into law by Governor Cuomo last October. It requires that every graduating senior have this education before they graduate.

“Schools have until June to adopt the program and put it into their curriculum,” said Acompora. “New York is the 22nd state to have this law. We’ve been working for nine years to get this legislated, so this is indeed great news.”

Despite the hard work the Foundation has done, Acompora said there is still an enormous amount to be done.

“Anywhere people congregate and expel energy is important,” she pointed out. “It’s not uncommon for someone to go into cardiac arrest at such events. And it is still not written into law that athletic events outside of school systems, such as little league teams, be required to have CPR and AED education, not even coaches. We’re still working on this on a local level to insure, at the least, coaches get training. We have to expect from ourselves what we expect from our schools, but people just aren’t willing to spend the three hours learning. This is a very sad situation in the entire country.”

She uses a common sense analogy; the public’s brains are wired to dial 911 when there’s an emergency, including when someone is having sudden cardiac arrest. Instead, people need to act first by performing CPR.

“Police are typically first responders, and they do carry AEDs in their vehicles,” she said. “But from the time a person goes into cardiac arrest until the police arrive can be several, even many, valuable minutes. If someone nearby applies CPR immediately, the person in need stands a much higher chance of survival.”

She pointed out that some areas of the country have better CPR records, and consequently higher survival rates. In 2012, Kings County, WA, which includes Seattle, reported having positive outcomes with the use of CPR 65 percent of the time.

“New York has only a five percent survival rate,” she said. “This is because the general public here is not trained in CPR. Las Vegas casinos are another good example. They all have AEDs on hand, and there are cameras virtually everywhere. Those monitoring the cameras know instantly when someone goes into sudden cardiac arrest, and someone is on them within seconds.”

Acompora serves on the board of Parent Heart Watch, the national voice protecting youth from sudden cardiac arrest and preventable sudden cardiac death through screenings. The website, www.parentheartwatch.org, offers full information.

Screen Across America, in which they are also involved, is a consortium of organizations that provide heart screenings to students. It dictates heart screenings be a standard of care because thousands of children die every year from sudden cardiac arrest, and it’s the number one cause of death of student athletes.

As organizations, Screen Across America operates independently of each other, and its memberships are both nonprofits and for profits. Some charge for heart screenings while others offer it free of charge. Screening protocols may differ slightly, however, many have adopted the Seattle Criteria; a set of guidelines made by international experts in the field of sports cardiology.

Visitors to www.screenacrossamerica.org, can click on to any area of the country to learn where screenings are offered.

“The screenings have expanded and we are very happy about this,” said Acompora. “On Long Island, we have screened about 2,500 kids, of which about 60 have been found to have problems that are potentially life-threatening. These screenings aren’t typically a part of pediatrician checkups unless they are aware of a genetic issue.”

As kids are screened, they’re also taught about CPR and how to use an AED — a double bonus that ensures even more people learn cardiac life-saving procedures. Acompora added there are now screenings available in some areas of New York.

The Acomporas are also instructors in the HeartRescue Project, a collaborative effort to increase sudden cardiac arrest survival rates. Sudden cardiac arrest claims an estimated 350,000 people each year. More than 90 percent of people who experience it die, representing a national survival rate that has not significantly changed in more than 30 years. The people they train are educated in action planning techniques, or how to immediately react when an emergency occurs. This program also involves coaches, parents, teachers and students.

“The success of the HeartRescue Project is dependent on bystander response and improving community responses,” said Acompora. “Drills are needed repeatedly to reeducate and reinforce the response protocol. We’re encouraging schools to do the ‘drop the dummy’ drill. Have someone pretend to have a heart attack and fall down. Make sure every single person is doing their part in the drill.”

The ripple effect that has come from Louis’ death — despite the ongoing grief — is that potentially hundreds of thousands of people are alive today because of the determination in which Karen and John Acompora have held fast. Their efforts have likely spread around the world and at numbers that are impossible to conceive. And forever humble, they won’t stop their ongoing efforts. With so many people now aware of CPR and AEDs because of them, it’s an endeavor that will move forward forever.