The Thomas Smith Foundation literally saved my son’s life!! They detected a life threatening heart problem when he was 14 years old. Six months later he had open heart surgery to correct the issue that would have taken his life if it had gone undetected. Our family cannot thank the Smith family enough. God Bless You❤️
The Thumb Area of Michigan personally benefited from the heart checks provided by this foundation. A few youths were captured from the screenings. This could have been a lifesaving find for these youth.
As a mother of a 20-year old CHD young adult, I cannot express the importance of these life-saving screenings. I was fortunate enough to know of my daughters CHD at 16 weeks. Not every mother is that fortunate.
Through the generosity of this foundation, many parents have had their children’s life spared because of the screening that have been provided.
The Thomas Smith foundation has been a lifesaver to many families and continues to forge on educating and providing awareness to what could be a silent killer to our children.
Please take advantage of all heart checks for your children/teens. I would do anything to keep my child safe and healthy. Wouldn’t you?
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I just wanted to send you a note and say thank you. We took Kyle to your heart screening and he had 5 blood pressure readings. All were substanially high. His EKG was normal. But, it was recomended we follow up with his pediatrician regarding his blood pressure. When we went in, it was also high. And, she looked through his history and for almost 2 years it has been elevated. It wasn't a concern because he was taking Aderall for his ADHD, and that is a side effect. He has been off that med since spring. And, his BP is higher now. We got blood work done and found he has hypothryoid. He has every symptom in the book. The high blood pressure can effect his heart, ,so they are sending him for an Echo next Friday. Had we not gone to your screening, we easily would have ignored all the symptoms and caused him to have more issues. I wanted you to know this because even though this is a heart screening, it led to a diagnoses that will need to be treated, and will resolve many problems he has been dealing with (headaches, poor vision, overweight, short, depression, fatigue, high blood pressure). I can't thank you enough.
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) kills approximately 2000 students in America each year, usually during, or following strenuous activities. After the category of “Accidents,” “Heart Disease” is the second leading cause of death among persons under the age of twenty-one. Most Heart Disease deaths in youths can be attributed to undetected heart health issues, hence most of these deaths may be prevented through effective and cost-efficient, student heart health screenings. Most student pre-sports physical examinations do not include a heart screening.
The Thomas Smith Memorial Foundation (TSMF) is a 100% Voluntary, meaning no-paid-staff, 501(C) 3 nonprofit. This foundation exists in the memory of Thomas Noah Smith, an enthusiastic Flushing High School senior who died of SCA in January 2011. The purpose of TSMF is to provide all middle and high school students in Michigan with access to free heart screenings. TSMF partners with Cardiologists, Nurses, Hospitals, allied health professionals, and schools to provide FREE Heart Health Screenings as part of a student’s pre-sport physical.
Twice annually TSMF organizes Free Heart Health Screenings for approximately 800 middle & high school athletes. A heart screening of this type normally costs $1500/screening and is not covered by Insurance Companies. To provide each of the free screening events, over 100 volunteers (M.D.s, RNs, RTs, Allied Health Students and High School students) unite to provide this service. The Free screenings are scheduled for every 15 minutes between 9 AM and 4 PM usually at a school. Only those students whose vital health indicators appear abnormal as reviewed by a Cardiologist progress through to a full heart screening using both an electrocardiogram and an echocardiogram. Hence unnecessary screening costs are eliminated in the search for hidden heart health issues. Since its founding in 2012, TSMF volunteers have collaborated to screen over 3000 students and plan to continue to provide two teen heart screenings per year. The screenings consist of a review of medical history, a physical examination by a cardiologist, blood pressure check, an electrocardiogram and only if recommended by the physician, an echocardiogram.