People who take action and perform CPR in an emergency are heroes. That’s why the American Heart Association is proud to recognize a team of people who performed CPR to save a coworker’s life. Nine people, including employees of the Clinton Central School District, were presented with the Heartsaver Hero Award during the school’s June awards assembly.
Last August, Clinton Central School District teacher Mary Beth King was at work getting ready for the new school year. She headed for the principal’s office and found custodian Bryan Hill unconscious on the floor. His heart had stopped. King is a CPR instructor and her training kicked in right away. King, along with other staff members and two construction contractors, called 911, started CPR chest compressions, and retrieved the automatic external defibrillator (AED). The team used the AED and continued CPR until EMTs arrived, including Clinton graduate Bret Grabeldinger. Thanks to the quick action of his co-workers, Bryan was back to work within a few months.
“I applaud the quick action on the part of all involved that saved Bryan’s life, including the Clinton Fire Department,” says Clinton Superintendent Dr. Stephen Grimm. “Everyone responded quickly and worked together to keep Bryan alive until we could get him in the hands of medical professionals. We are also proud to offer American Heart Association CPR through our health classes and know that it will make a difference in the lives of our graduates and community, as it did here on that day for Bryan.”
American Heart Association Youth Market Director Meg Gibbons, Jim Scoones, Diane Lupinski, Eric Mosher, and Julia Scranton, and Superintendent Dr. Stephen Grimm
The Heartsaver Hero Awards were presented to the following:
- Bret Grabeldinger
- James Grower
- Mary Beth King
- Diane Lupinski
- Jamie Madden
- Eric Mosher
- Daniel Priore
- Julia Scranton
- Jim Scoones
The American Heart Association wants everyone to learn CPR and be able to take action like this team. More than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur each year. Unfortunately, only about 10% survive. However, immediate CPR can double or even triple a victim’s chances of survival. The American Heart Association is celebrating CPR & AED Awareness Week June 1-7 to help educate the community on the importance of CPR.
If you see a teen or adult collapse, remember the two steps to Hands-Only CPR™: 1) Call 911 and 2) Push hard and fast in the center of the chest until help arrives. You can learn this lifesaving skill in one minute by watching a video at www.heart.org/handsonlycpr.
The Class of 2016 is the first high school student class in New York State to have received Hands-Only CPR training as a result of the CPR in Schools Law, which went into effect this school year.