500 Students To Receive Low Cost EKG Testing In Waukesha

WAUKESHA, WI— A second annual EKG testing event will be held Aug.23 in honor of Kai Lermer.

The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is sponsored by Kai11 Save-A-Heart Mission.

There are 500 screening spots available at Waukesha West, Waukesha South, Catholic Memorial and Pewaukee High Schools.

At the 2020 event,, more than 200 Waukesha High School students were tested. This will be the first multi-school event and testing of this size in the State of Wisconsin, according to a news release.

The event will be at 1721 Northview Road at the Fox River Christian Church. The cost is $20 per student and the test takes 15 minutes.

Wisconsin Representative Scott Allen will be attending the event from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Allen will be available to discuss updates on the Kai11 Bill (AB 82),which is currently under review with the Wisconsin Assembly Education Committee. AB82 will include information for parents and guardians on the risks of sudden cardiac arrest in student athletes.

Kai’s father, Mike Lermer, said the Kai 11 Bill will help prevent another child's death under similar circumstances.

Kai Lermer was a triathlete at Waukesha North High School who died unexpectedly at 16 of an undiagnosed condition that led to sudden cardiac arrest.

“You think this can’t happen to your child, to your family. It can! Since Kai passed away in April of 2019, I am personally aware of five sudden cardiac arrests impacting young adults in Southeast, WI, three of the five did not survive,” Mike Lermer said in a statement.

In addition to offering EKG screenings, the event will be expanded to include CPR training and AED training. Pina Food Truck will be participating and donating 5 percent of its sales to support The Kai11 Save-A-Heart Mission. T-Shirts and other items will be on salefrom the participating high schools or the Kai11 Save-A-Heart Mission.

The Kai Lermer Memorial Fund was created in association with the Waukesha County Community Foundation to support the awareness, detection and prevention of heart disease in children, teenagers and young adults.

To date, the fund has trained more than 200 people in CPR and placed 14 automated external defibrillators in the city of Waukesha.

The fund also memorializes Kai Lermer by funding the improvement of the Waukesha North athletics program and the Waukesha parks and recreation system, and offering scholarships.