WB Has Heart is a student organization created by West Bloomfield High School juniors Matilda Edvardson, Amarina Kriko, and Sophia Zholob to spread awareness about sudden cardiac arrest and make West Bloomfield High School a Michigan Heart Safe School. The impetus for this organization came when one of its creators, Matilda, had gone for her sports physical and her physician suggested she get a heart check to make sure her heart was healthy due to the rise in sudden cardiac arrest in students.
WB Has Heart started as a joint project of the WBHS HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) and DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) school clubs. In the fall of the 2024-2025 school year WB Has Heart was taken public and since then created many events. To publicize the importance of sudden cardiac arrest, several events were created such as wearing RED on World Heart Day celebrated on February 6. The West Bloomfield Fire Department helped train students in CPR, and a scavenger hunt was set up to help find and identify the places where Automatic External Defibrillators (AED) were located in the high school. The faculty were involved in a cardiac emergency drill to make sure they knew how to perform CPR, use the AED, and to make sure their CPR certifications were current. We were fortunate to hear from Alex Bowerson about his story of how he survived a sudden cardiac arrest. WB Has Heart also partnered with Corewell Health on February 1 to bring in Free Heart Checks for students.
I had the opportunity to get a heart check and document my experience. This valuable program is an essential part of wellness – both physically and mentally. Many health care systems have programs that are relatable to students and I encourage everyone to take advantage of them.
Document of the Heart Check:
I was under great care and had amazing results from my heart check! The two people who did my EKG or ECG which stands for electrocardiogram were Annes Eum, who is a 4th-year medical student at MSU, and Debbie Tollafield, a medical assistant with the Corewell Health Michigan Heart Group. My Echocardiography Tech was Sahar Bazzoun, a Cardiac Sonographer at Corewell Health. At one point when they were checking my heart it felt a bit weird as there was a lot of pressure in one spot of my Sternum and after I bit I got used to it.
My Report:
This report was put on Laker Update to show the event.
Art Therapy:
Erin Shahly is an Art Therapist at Corewell Health. She talks about the art exhibit they are creating with the art tiles made at the heart checks, her approach to creating art with her patients, how art therapy is helpful to all, and much more.
Talking with the founders of WB Has Heart:
I talked with the Founders of WB Has Heart Amarina Kriko, Matilda Edvardson, and Sophia Zholob about what their project means, how many people took advantage of this opportunity, what is next for WB Has Heart, Future growth plans, why people should sign up for heart checks, and more.
Therapy Dog initiative at Corewell Health’s Student Heart Checks:
Therapy Dogs are a great way to help eliminate stress, I spoke with volunteers from Corewell Health about getting their dogs the certification to become therapy dogs, a little about them, a little about their dog, the volunteer unit, and how they feel this helps patients.
Bonnie is a Golden Doodle and is owned by Jessica and Andy.
Leo is owned by Darcie.
Talking to Corewell Health’s Student Heart Check Manager:
Mrs. Shea is the General Manager of Student Heart Checks at Corewell Health and we discuss the importance of getting a heart check, the statistics of sudden cardiac arrest, statistics about their student heart check program, her education, and more.
In the future, I will be sitting down with the founders of WB Has Heart to discuss their achievements and what’s next! We will continue our coverage of WB Has Heart, and if this encourages you to get a heart check, you can click this link to get involved with WB Has Heart or if you have concerns about your health, contact your local physician. My main takeaway from WB Has Heart is that CPR saves lives and you will never know when you need these skills to save a life.
