Proposal Would Expand Screening For Heart Issues In WI Youth Athletics

WISCONSIN — A budget proposal announced by Wisconsin's governor on Wednesday looks to expand upon a 2022 bill signed in honor of Kai Lermer, the 16-year-old student from Waukesha North High School who died after he went into cardiac arrest during a game of pickup basketball in 2019.

The proposal comes as part of Democrat Tony Evers' 2023-2025 budget proposal. Part of it would direct over $4.1 million for local health departments to implement youth athletic EKG screening pilot programs. The pilot program would provide funding to health departments in Waukesha and Milwaukee Counties with the goal of helping to prevent cardiac-related health incidents in local students and forging best practices for a possible statewide expansion, according to a news release from the governor's office.

Lermer was a junior student-athlete when he went into cardiac arrest in March 2019. A report by Patch at the time noted that he had an undiscovered rare illness that can cause a rapid heartbeat known as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.

"An electrocardiogram (EKG) screening could have discovered Kai’s condition, allowing Kai and his family to take life-saving precautions and preventative measures," said the governor's news release.

Related: Kai Lermer Of Waukesha North Passes Away After 'Courageous Fight'

The Kai 11 bill required the development and distribution of information on the risks of sudden cardiac arrest in youth athletic participants. The bill also sought to provide information about the benefits of EKG testing and how to request them, according to the governor's office.

After Lermer's death, his parents advocated for the Kai 11 bill. A foundation was also started in his name with the goal of providing EKG testing.

“The Kai Lermer Memorial Foundation has funded low-cost EKG screening for high school athletes in Southeastern Wisconsin over the past three years," said Paul Ybarra, Kai's godfather and co-founder of the memorial foundation. "We have identified dozens of kids at risk and several with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. Identifying those kids with an increased risk in their EKG results now, before a Sudden Cardiac Arrest event, gives that parent and child options that Kai did not have. This EKG Screening Pilot will identify kids at risk and save lives."

Kai's close friends and family are expected to attend Evers' biennial budget message Wednesday night.

“The ‘Kai 11’ bill created a pathway for us to raise awareness of this important issue," said Evers in a release, "but we have to continue building upon that important work so parents can make the best decisions for their kids’ health. The ‘Kai 11’ bill is saving lives, and I believe that this initiative will, too.”

Learn more about the Kai Lermer Memorial Foundation through its Facebook page.