Seaford Middle School Opens For Cardiac Screenings

SEAFORD, NY. — Seaford Middle School took a brief turn as a cardiac clinic Saturday, as volunteers from multiple nonprofits stepped in to offer 198 cardiac exams to people aged 12 to 24. The screening, district officials said, was made possible by a partnership with the Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation and the Dominic A. Murray 21 Memorial Foundation.

The Louis J. Acompora Memorial Foundation gets its name from a high school athlete who died of a rare condition known as commotio cordis at 14 years-old after being hit in the chest with a lacrosse ball during his first game. The foundation is run by his parents, John and Karen Acompora.

Meanwhile, the Dominic A. Murray 21 Memorial Foundation was founded in honor of a basketball player who went into sudden cardiac arrest in 2009, and is run by his mother, founder and president Melinda Murray-Nyack. The foundations, district officials say, have screened thousands of students in over a decade of offering cardiac screenings.

For Saturday’s participants, the day began with prospective examinees filling out heart history forms and getting their blood pressure checked in the middle school gym, then getting their height and weight measured before undergoing EKGs to track their heart’s electrical activity.

Anyone whose hearts needed further evaluation was given an echocardiogram, a procedure which creates an image of the heart using sound waves. That image, district officials said, allows healthcare professionals a more clear look at a participant's heart function.

Among the participants Saturday was Brock Conway, a three-sport athlete at Seaford High School who was accompanied by some of his teammates on the wrestling team. For Conway, it was an important chance to stay on top of his cardiovascular health.

“It’s important for me and my health,” Conway said. “It was well-organized and I also learned CPR. This is really great and I’m glad I was able to come and get screened.”

Conway was one of 198 people who took advantage of the screening, which ended with a CPR lesson and instructions on how to use an external defibrillator, in the event that participants were near someone who encountered a cardiac incident in their day-to-day lives.

For Seaford director of physical education, health and athletics Kevin Witt, the day was a chance to teach young people a bit about what goes into their health, as well as a chance to make sure everyone’s tickers were working properly.

“This was a great opportunity to get the youngsters in our community a thorough heart examination,” Witt said. “This goes beyond a routine check-up.”