MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) came into high praise Tuesday, for participating in a potentially lifesaving program. 

For 20 years, MPS has been part of Project Adam. The program makes defibrillators available for schools in case of sudden heart issues. It was named after Whitefish Bay student Adam Lemel, who collapsed and died while playing basketball in 1999. An AED was not available to save him.

Since then, Adam's parents have worked with Children's Wisconsin and school systems to make sure AEDs are available and people are properly trained to use them. 

Tuesday's celebration marked 20 years of MPS' participation in Project Adam. 

"We are still working with schools today one-on-one to help them build plans, help them get AEDs," said Allie Thompson, of Children's Wisconsin. "You did that across an entire district and we're sitting here today celebrating 20 years of not just a feel-good project, a comprehensive program that we've already heard from multiple leaders has saved lives."

We're told 300 lives have been saved across the country through the work of Project Adam, and at MPS, 10 people have benefited from having defibrillators available.