EKG Screening Comes to Warren Township High School

All students at Warren Township High School (WTHS) will have an opportunity to participate in Screens for Teens, a cardiac screening program, on Wednesday, March 1st at O’Plaine and March 8th at Almond.

“We are pleased that Warren Township High School is having heart screening for all interested students in March,” said Tom and Alane Church. “This screening can save lives and it just takes a few minutes to do! With the loss of our son Joshua in November, we are hoping his life can shine a bright light on how important it is to have all our kids screened! We would love volunteers to come out and help!”

The event is sponsored by the Max Schewitz Foundation which strives to provide high-quality, low-cost cardiac testing and relies extensively on volunteers to achieve its goals. The student test at WTHS costs $15 per student with free and reduced lunch students tested at no charge. Testing occurs during PE, Health, Drivers Ed or Study Hall. Students without these classes at Almond can be tested 8th period.

All families will receive the results of the screening by email, however, students who register by February 19th for the O’Plaine screening or February 26th for the Almond screening will automatically receive a FREE copy of their EKG by email.

“High school is an ideal time for students to have a baseline EKG [electrocardiogram] screening of the heart's function since the greatest risk of sudden cardiac death is between ages 17 and 22,” said Mary Beth Schewitz, executive director of the Max Schewitz Foundation. “It is quick and painless and can detect many potentially life-threatening heart conditions.”

Parent volunteers are needed to help run the screening at WTHS since the program relies on parents as the primary labor source for performing the EKGs. Parent training will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 28th for the O’Plaine screening in the gym and March 7th at the Almond campus in the field house. Several administrative positions need to be filled as well which do not require training. About 75 parent volunteers are needed at each campus.

To volunteer or to register your student for the test, please visit the sites below.

Please register for the O’Plaine screening and/or volunteer: www.heartsmartekg.org/WTHSOP

Please register for the Almond screening and/or volunteer: www.heartsmartekg.org/WTHSALM

“We are extremely grateful that the Max Schewitz Foundation will be hosting the Screen for Teens events at both of our campuses,” said Superintendent John Ahlgrim. “The opportunity to have screenings provided for thousands of our WTHS students is a true blessing for our parents and community.”

About The Max Schewitz Foundation

Based in Lake Bluff, Ill., The Max Schewitz Foundation’s dual missions reflect Max’s life and death. His parents and family friends started the Foundation in 2005 after 20-year-old Max died suddenly from a cardiac arrhythmia. The Foundation works to prevent sudden cardiac death (SCD) in young people and to promote conservation of fragile reptile species and their ecosystems. To date, over 56,000 students in Illinois and Wisconsin have received EKG testing from the Foundation and 1,200 students were given limited echocardiograms. The Foundation has found more than 1,400 students who required further medical evaluation. To learn more, call Mary Beth Schewitz at (847) 234-2206 or follow us on Twitter and Facebook.