STUDENT athletes from four schools will this week benefit from heart screenings and workshops through a joint programme known as One Love, One Heart.

The programme, which is a screening, monitoring and education programme for male and female student athletes across the island, is to benefit students from St Jago High, Vere Technical High, St Andrew Technical High, and GC Foster College, as part of its pilot from January 19 to 21 at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston.

The initiative is being launched as part of Jamaicans Abroad Helping Jamaicans At Home (JAH JAH) Foundation’s annual mission trip – Mission for Change 2015. And according to their news release, the initiative is in response to a seeming rise in incidents of sudden cardiac deaths in high school-aged athletes. Team Jamaica Bickle (TBJ), Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association and Jamaica International Female Football Development (JIFFD) have partnered with JAH JAH Foundation to launch the programme, bringing together volunteers from the United States and Jamaica.

“Four schools have been targeted as a pilot for the One Love, One Heart Programme. Our team of medical volunteers will provide echocardiograms to the athletes to collect baseline data and assess the health of their heart and their general health,” said Dr Trevor Dixon, emergency physician and founder of JAH JAH Foundation. “We will also provide ongoing education and monitoring to prevent fatalities.

“In some of the cases, young people have very little indications that something is wrong,” Dixon continued. “Through screening, monitoring and education we can inform young athletes and their families on ways to take care of themselves while training and competing.”

The release said a CPR training presentation will also be provided so coaches and students can be informed on how to better handle cases of emergency.

TBJ, a non-profit organisation that provides assistance for fledgling Jamaican athletes and their coaches to participate

in the Penn Relays, said it is glad to be a part of the initiative as it focuses on promoting healthy lifestyles. JIFFD,

which is a South Florida-based organisation that provides programmes

for sports, education, health, and social development for young women in Jamaica and across the Diaspora, will be coordinating the programme’s workshops on nutrition.