SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — The death of a skier at Keystone Resort Wednesday is under investigation by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
Around 12:20 p.m. Wednesday, Summit County sheriff’s deputies got a report of someone unresponsive on The Grizz — a run in the resort’s Outback area.
Other skiers found the man and immediately began CPR and called for help. Keystone Ski Patrol responded, providing more advanced life-saving treatment, before getting the skier onto a Flight for Life. He was taken to CommonSpirit St. Anthony Summit Hospital where he was later pronounced dead, the sheriff’s office said.
The skier lived on the Front Range and was wearing a helmet, according to the Summit County Sheriff’s Office.
The Summit County Coroner’s Office will release his identity once his family is notified and an official cause and manner of death is determined.
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The owner of a day care in Manteca has been arrested in connection with a 5-month-old infant’s death while he was under her care, officials said Monday.Roxanne Helus, owner of the Cherished Years Daycare that is run at her home along the 2300 block of Merlin Lane, faces a charge of felony child endangerment, the Manteca Police Department said. The agency plans to file additional charges, which would include causing death to a child under 8 years old.Police said at 1:25 p.m. on Oct. 22, officers went to the day care for a report of an infant not breathing. There, they found an adult at the scene providing CPR to the infant, later identified as Christian Olvera.Officers took over CPR until the Manteca Fire Department and medics arrived to also perform CPR, police said. Christian was taken to a nearby hospital and was later transferred to Oakland Children’s Hospital, where he died on Oct. 24.Police said there were no signs of trauma, and Christian’s cause of death will be determined by the results of an autopsy.”We hear about this happening all the time, and you never think it’s going to happen to you,” said Christian’s aunt, Erica Valdivia.When officers first got to the day care, police said they learned that Helus was intoxicated when Christian stopped breathing. There were three other adults and three day care children at the time. The children were checked and found to be unharmed.Helus was booked in the San Joaquin County Jail, but police said she has since bailed out.”It’s just been an unbearable pain and loss for our family,” Valdivia said.It is not known how long Helus’ day care has been in business, and police were also not immediately aware of her prior history. California Community Care Licensing, which has jurisdiction over licensed day cares, is assisting police with the investigation.Anyone with information related to the case is asked to call police at 209-456-8101 and reference case No. 25-04723.See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
MANTECA, Calif. —
The owner of a day care in Manteca has been arrested in connection with a 5-month-old infant’s death while he was under her care, officials said Monday.
Roxanne Helus, owner of the Cherished Years Daycare that is run at her home along the 2300 block of Merlin Lane, faces a charge of felony child endangerment, the Manteca Police Department said. The agency plans to file additional charges, which would include causing death to a child under 8 years old.
Police said at 1:25 p.m. on Oct. 22, officers went to the day care for a report of an infant not breathing. There, they found an adult at the scene providing CPR to the infant, later identified as Christian Olvera.
Emily New Born Photography
Officers took over CPR until the Manteca Fire Department and medics arrived to also perform CPR, police said. Christian was taken to a nearby hospital and was later transferred to Oakland Children’s Hospital, where he died on Oct. 24.
Police said there were no signs of trauma, and Christian’s cause of death will be determined by the results of an autopsy.
“We hear about this happening all the time, and you never think it’s going to happen to you,” said Christian’s aunt, Erica Valdivia.
When officers first got to the day care, police said they learned that Helus was intoxicated when Christian stopped breathing. There were three other adults and three day care children at the time. The children were checked and found to be unharmed.
Helus was booked in the San Joaquin County Jail, but police said she has since bailed out.
“It’s just been an unbearable pain and loss for our family,” Valdivia said.
It is not known how long Helus’ day care has been in business, and police were also not immediately aware of her prior history. California Community Care Licensing, which has jurisdiction over licensed day cares, is assisting police with the investigation.
Anyone with information related to the case is asked to call police at 209-456-8101 and reference case No. 25-04723.
See news happening? Send us your photos or videos if it’s safe to do so at kcra.com/upload.
A Vermont man is lucky to be alive after collapsing from cardiac arrest in August. This week, he finally got the chance to thank the people who saved him.Bob Fenoff, 67, was working on a wall in his office when he said he suddenly blacked out and collapsed. Fenoff’s office is connected to the garage, which he leases to the Vermont transportation agency, VTRANS. “I just lost consciousness and that was it. Ended up on the floor,” Fenoff said.Two VTRANS employees, Noah Royer and John McClure, immediately jumped into action. They dialed 911 and began performing CPR — skills they had learned through mandatory workplace training.“Even though it doesn’t train you for moments like that, it gives you the basics,” Royer said. “Fight or flight takes over from there.”First responders arrived minutes later. Paramedics used a defibrillator to restart Fenoff’s heart. He spent two weeks in a coma before waking up and is now expected to make a full recovery.“If it had not been for the brave and immediate actions of Noah Royer and John McClure, I do not think that Mr. Fenoff would be standing in front of us today,” Keith Feddersen, a paramedic with CALEX Ambulance, said.Fenoff and his wife, Kathy, say they can’t express enough gratitude for the lifesaving efforts.“I’d thank you a hundred times — can’t thank you enough,” Kathy said.First responders hope Fenoff’s story will inspire others to learn CPR and AED use.“Getting certified is vitally important,” Capt. Phil Hawthorne of the St. Johnsbury Fire Department said. “This case really proves it.”
A Vermont man is lucky to be alive after collapsing from cardiac arrest in August. This week, he finally got the chance to thank the people who saved him.
Bob Fenoff, 67, was working on a wall in his office when he said he suddenly blacked out and collapsed. Fenoff’s office is connected to the garage, which he leases to the Vermont transportation agency, VTRANS.
“I just lost consciousness and that was it. Ended up on the floor,” Fenoff said.
Two VTRANS employees, Noah Royer and John McClure, immediately jumped into action. They dialed 911 and began performing CPR — skills they had learned through mandatory workplace training.
“Even though it doesn’t train you for moments like that, it gives you the basics,” Royer said. “Fight or flight takes over from there.”
First responders arrived minutes later. Paramedics used a defibrillator to restart Fenoff’s heart. He spent two weeks in a coma before waking up and is now expected to make a full recovery.
“If it had not been for the brave and immediate actions of Noah Royer and John McClure, I do not think that Mr. Fenoff would be standing in front of us today,” Keith Feddersen, a paramedic with CALEX Ambulance, said.
Fenoff and his wife, Kathy, say they can’t express enough gratitude for the lifesaving efforts.
“I’d thank you a hundred times — can’t thank you enough,” Kathy said.
First responders hope Fenoff’s story will inspire others to learn CPR and AED use.
“Getting certified is vitally important,” Capt. Phil Hawthorne of the St. Johnsbury Fire Department said. “This case really proves it.”
A man’s life was saved at a Hastings, Minnesota, bar, thanks to an off-duty paramedic and an automatic external defibrillator.
Lucas Kanoll is a fifth generation firefighter and paramedic. He wasn’t working on Sept. 25 when he walked into Dugarel’s Bar and Grill. But his life-saving instincts kicked in, just the same.
“I heard some people screaming. I saw them laying him down,” said Kanoll.
A customer had collapsed and gone into cardiac arrest. Knowing every second counts, Kanoll ran to him, began CPR and then asked a server to grab the AED, which advised a shock.
WCCO
“I started CPR again after that shock, and he started to come around, so I knew I had a pulse back,” said Kanoll.
The man survived and was taken to the hospital where he had two stents put in his heart. Without Kanoll and without the defibrillator, the man’s outcome could have been much different.
There’s a story about why the AED was at Dugarel’s in the first place. And it begins with a grieving father looking to honor his son’s memory.
“Anyone who has lost a child, as I have learned, it really doesn’t go away,” said Chris Passauer.
In 2016, Passauer’s son Chase was shot and killed inside the St. Paul law office he was working in. To cope with the tragic loss, Passauer created a foundation in his son’s name. As part of it, Passauer got the idea to place AEDs in businesses across Hastings.
With help from the fire department, one of the first to get one was Dugarel’s, because it takes a little longer for paramedics to get there.
“So, for the individual that needed it, I was really glad it was here. Timing is everything with Lucas walking in the door,” said Passauer.
The man who survived happens to be a friend of Hastings Fire Marshal Al Storlie.
“He was very thankful for Lucas, wants to meet Lucas. One he starts getting back on his feet he’s going to come to the station and meet Lucas and thank him for what he did,” said Storlie.
In many ways, it’s a full circle moment. A young life taken far too soon. And another saved because of his memory.
“He’s now able to keep going and live his life with his family. It’s a great feeling,” said Kanoll.
The Hastings Fire Relief Association and the Allina Heart Safe program also helped with the AED program. They hope to have four more in Hastings by the end of the year. If you’d like to donate, you can click here.
John Lauritsen is an Emmy award-winning reporter from Montevideo, Minn. He joined WCCO-TV in late-July of 2007. Two days after he started, the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed.
A nursing home resident known to wander and ingest foreign objects died after choking on ribbons at a facility in Adelaide’s north, an inquest has heard.
Ronald Maine, 71, was living in a secure unit at Helping Hand nursing home at Mawson Lakes when a staff member noticed he was pale, clammy and had blue fingertips after consuming morning tea on September 27, 2022.
Counsel assisting the coroner, Rebecca Schell, told the court Mr Maine had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia five years earlier, and had been assessed by Dementia Support Australia as having a high risk of choking.
She told the court Mr Maine had placed inedible object in his mouth, including clay and pearl beads, on three separate previous occasions.
Ronald Maine died at the Lyell McEwin Hospital three years ago. (Supplied: Jessica Maine)
On the morning he died, Ms Schell said nursing staff had sat him in a chair and put an oxygen mask on, but it was not until paramedics arrived that his airways were cleared and CPR performed.
“He was immediately repositioned to the ground and CPR was commenced,” she said.
“Prior to CPR, Mr Maine’s oral cavity was swept out and food and fabric ribbon were discovered.
“In total SAAS (South Australian Ambulance Service) officers removed three different pieces of fabric ribbon of varying colours from Mr Maine’s airway.”
Mr Maine was then transferred to the Lyell McEwin Hospital where he died later that day.
Ms Schell said that Mr Maine’s cause of death was determined as upper airway obstruction by food and foreign material on a background of frontotemporal dementia.
“Put simply, it is anticipated the court will hear that Mr Maine choked to death on the ribbons and food material that he had ingested,”
she said.
She said Helping Hand had completed an internal investigation after the incident and made its own recommendations about basic life support and choking training for all nursing staff.
“There is no doubt that those who performed first aid on Mr Maine, did so to the very best of their abilities, in what I understand was a very stressful situation for them,” she said.
Ronald Maine was a resident at Helping Hand nursing home at Mawson Lakes. (ABC News: Ashlin Blieschke)
But, she said the inquest would examine the training provided to staff before and since the incident and whether Mr Maine’s death could have been prevented.
“Ultimately, the inquest will consider the issue of whether appropriately administered first aid could have prevented the death of Mr Maine,” she said.
“This inquest will explore whether nursing staff in aged care facilities are receiving sufficient training in the provision of basic life support.
“This, in turn, may equip them to execute their duties in emergencies.”
She noted Deputy State Coroner Emma Roper, who is presiding over the inquest, may not be able to make a finding about where the ribbons came from.
She said Ms Roper may consider making a recommendation, when she hands down her findings at a later date.
That would be it is “vital that nursing staff have access to and undertake regular basic life support training to ensure they can provide and execute the appropriate level of care to residents in aged care facilities in the event of an emergency.”
Tendency to ingest inedible items
The enrolled nurse who first noticed Mr Maine was unwell, Juvy Rakoia, said she realised he was “sweaty all over” and had blue fingertips after she grabbed his hand to lead him to a chair.
She sad Mr Maine was known as a wanderer with a big appetite, and staff knew from his case notes and handover discussions between staff that he had a tendency to place inedible objects in his mouth.
“It’s common knowledge that Ron would sometimes be ingesting things that are not food,” Ms Rakoia said.
She told the court that upon noticing Mr Maine was unwell she called for another staff member, registered nurse Zijad Softic.
The inquest heard Helping Hand had conducted an internal investigation after Mr Maine’s death. (ABC News: Ashlin Blieschke)
She said she checked Mr Maine’s airways but could not see anything before an oxygen mask was applied.
“We checked his mouth, we swipe it out, there’s nothing anywhere,” she said.
She said because Mr Maine did not have teeth or dentures “so you can clearly see there was nothing in his mouth”.
She said she did not think he was choking because “from what I know, choking you would be gasping for air, coughing something, he wasn’t … doing all that”.
“He was eating throughout the day so I wouldn’t really think there was any obstruction, I couldn’t see anything,” she said.
During the triple-0 call, which was played to the court, Ms Rakoia explained that Mr Maine was pale, “very sweaty” and that he was breathing, but abnormally. She also told the operator there was no defibrillator available.
Mr Softic then took the phone and told the operator he could not do CPR because Mr Maine was still breathing.
“He’s basically, what I can see, he’s dying but he’s still breathing, probably 6-10 [breaths] a minute,” he said.
Ronald Maine had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, the inquest was told. (Supplied: Jessica Maine)
He said he was reluctant to move Mr Maine from the chair.
“I can’t do any resus because he’s still breathing,” he told the operator.
Family tribute
Outside court, Mr Maine’s daughter Jessica, said her father was a “huge Crows fan” who was “actually really happy before he passed away”.
“Dementia made him a lot more smiley than previously,” she said.
She urged families to carefully select aged care for their loved ones.
“If you can’t get care from an aged care home, then how can you be sure that your family is going to be safe,” she said.
“I think people need to be aware that you really need to have a look around and find a good home for your families.”
The inquest is continuing and is expected to hear from other witnesses including a paramedic and an expert geriatrician.
Worker rescued from underground Costco gas tank after fainting, Sacramento Fire says
LET’S GO TO SOME BREAKING NEWS THAT WE’RE FOLLOWING RIGHT NOW. A WORKER WAS JUST RESCUED OUT OF A GAS TANK, REPORTEDLY AFTER HE FAINTED OR LOST CONSCIOUSNESS. THIS IS AT THE COSTCO OFF EXPOSITION BOULEVARD IN SACRAMENTO KCRA 3’S MICHELLE BANDUR JUST ARRIVED ON SCENE. WE CAN SEE THEY HAVE A LOT OF THE AREA TAPED OFF. MICHELLE, WHAT HAPPENED? WELL, YEAH, IT WAS AROUND 1045 THIS MORNING THAT SACRAMENTO CITY FIREFIGHTERS GOT THE CALL OF THAT. A WORKER HERE WAS DOWN. THE WORKER WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO CHECK OUT AND CLEAN SOME TANKS THAT ARE UNDERGROUND BEHIND ME HERE. WE WANT TO GET YOU ALL THE DETAILS. SO I’M GOING TO INTERVIEW. SACRAMENTO CITY. FIREFIGHTER PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER JUSTIN SYLVIA AND I MOVED OVER TO THE OTHER SIDE HERE SO YOU CAN TELL US YOU KNOW, WHAT HAPPENED. HE WAS OVERCOME BY THE FUMES DOWN BELOW IN THE TANK. YEAH, THAT’S EXACTLY RIGHT. SO AROUND 1045, OUR RESCUE CREWS GOT A CALL FOR SOMEONE THAT WAS DOWN INSIDE OF A FUEL TANK. THE FUEL TANK IS CURRENTLY EMPTY. THEY’RE IN THE PROCESS OF REMODELING ALL THEIR FUEL PUMPS. THIS COMPANY CAME OUT AS A THIRD PARTY COMPANY TO CLEAN THAT FUEL TANK. THE WORKER WENT DOWN IN THERE. I MEAN, YOU CAN SMELL THE GASOLINE THAT’S AROUND US. VERY STRONG ODORS IN THERE. EITHER HAD A MEDICAL EMERGENCY OR WAS OVERCOME BY THE FUMES DOWN THERE. BUT ONCE OUR RESCUERS GOT HIM OUT, HE WAS TRANSPORTED UNDER CPR. WELL, I MEAN, TALK ABOUT THE DANGER WITH THAT. DID YOUR RESCUERS HAVE TO GEAR UP BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, FOR FEAR OF THEM OVERCOMING GOING INSIDE THAT TANK? SO WE DO AIR MONITORING. WE KNOW THAT THERE’S A VERY HIGH EXPLOSIVE LIMIT TO THIS RIGHT NOW. SO OUR CREWS WERE ON AIR WHEN THEY WENT DOWN THERE TO GET HIM. BUT WE ALSO HAD TO GET A HAZMAT TEAM OUT HERE AS WELL FOR THAT AIR MONITORING TO MAKE SURE IT WAS ACTUALLY SAFE FOR RESCUERS TO GO DOWN IN THE HOLE. OKAY. SO BY BEING IN THAT ENCLOSED AREA AND BEING AROUND ALL OF THOSE FUMES, THAT’S WHAT CAUSES THE DANGER. ABSOLUTELY. YOU’RE IN A CONFINED SPACE, HIGH FUMES IN THERE THAT COULD EXPLODE. SO WE NEED TO REMOVE THAT EXPLOSION HAZARD. EVERYONE AROUND HAD TO BE IN FULL TURNOUTS. WE HAD HOSE LINES DOWN ON THE GROUND JUST IN CASE SOMETHING WERE TO HAPPEN. BUT VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION. WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER WORKERS? HIS COWORKERS? THEY WERE TRYING TO GET HIM OUT OF THE HOLE, BUT THEY COULD NOT MANAGE TO GET HIM OUT. SO WE HAD TO PUSH THEM BACK SO WE COULD LET OUR PROFESSIONAL RESCUERS GET IN THERE AND GET HIM OUT OF THE HOLE. AND SO BY THE TIME THEY DID THAT, WHAT WAS HIS CONDITION? HE’S IN CRITICAL CONDITION. HE WAS UNDER CPR. HE WAS NOT BREATHING, NO HEARTBEAT. SO CPR. OKAY. AND SO HE’S AT THE HOSPITAL NOW. HE’S CURRENTLY AT THE HOSPITAL, BUT UNKNOWN ON HIS CONDITION. WELL, WHAT ABOUT I MEAN, ARE WE IN A SAFE SPACE? I IMAGINE WE ARE. BUT WHAT ABOUT. IS THERE ANY DANGER TO THE PUBLIC NOW? THERE’S NO DANGER TO THE PUBLIC. WE HAVE OUR HAZMAT TEAMS THAT ARE GOING TO BE CONTINUING TO MITIGATE THIS HAZARD AND FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE THE NEXT STEPS. BUT NO, NO PUBLIC IS IN DANGER AT THIS POINT. OKAY. YEAH. AND WITH THE WIND BLOWING, YOU CAN REALLY GET A WHIFF OF THAT GAS. YOU CAN REALLY SMELL THAT. SO WHAT ABOUT JUST BEING OUTSIDE ENVIRONMENTALLY? ARE FOLKS OKAY? YEAH. FOLKS ARE TOTALLY FINE. WE DO HAVE A GOOD BREEZE. IT’S GOING TO KIND OF DISSIPATE. BLOWING THIS FUMES OUT, BLOWING THESE FUMES OUT OF THE WAY. SO ALL RIGHT. AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? OUR HAZMAT TEAM IS GOING TO MITIGATE THE SITUATION. THEY’RE GOING TO FIGURE OUT BEST STEPS MOVING FORWARD. THEY’RE GOING TO DO A LOT OF TESTING OF THE AIR QUALITY IN THE TANK. BUT WE’RE JUST TRYING TO KEEP THIS AREA CORDONED OFF RIGHT NOW TO KEEP EVERYONE OUT. OKAY. AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THAT INFORMATION. JUST WANT TO REITERATE AGAIN THAT WORKER IS IN CRITICAL CONDITION WAS TAKEN FROM THE SCENE NOT BREATHING. AND ALSO OBVIOUSLY THIS AREA IS GOING TO BE CLOSED FOR MOST OF THE DAY. WOULD YOU SAY JUSTIN CLOSED FOR HOURS HERE. YEAH. SO THIS IS AREA IS GOING TO BE CLOSED FOR HOURS AGAIN. BUT HE WAS OVERCOME BY ALL THOSE GAS FUMES WHILE WHILE BEING IN THAT UNDERGROUND TANK. NO FIREFIGHTERS INJURED, NO OTHER COWORKERS INJURED. BUT WE’RE GOING TO STAY ON SCENE HERE AS WE WATCH FIREFIGHTERS, YOU KNOW, GET THIS AREA CLEARED, GET THE AIR CLEARED, AND MAKE SURE EVERYONE’S OKAY. REPORTING LIVE IN SACRAMENTO MICHELLE BANDUR KCRA THREE NEWS. YEAH, THAT’S A LOT OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION, MICHELLE. AND I KNOW MICHELLE, YOU MENTIONED YOU’VE GOTTEN GAS AT THAT GAS STATION MANY TIMES, AND WHO KNOWS WHEN THEY’RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO REOPEN IT AFTER ALL THIS? YEAH, I THINK JUST FIND SOMEWHERE ELSE TO GET YOUR GAS FOR NOW. ALL RIGHT. MICHELLE BANDUR REPORTING LIVE FOR US. AND AGAIN, THAT WORKER SAID TO BE IN CRITICAL CONDITION. AND HE SAID THAT THERE WAS NO HEARTBEAT WHEN THEY DID TRANSPORT THAT PERSON THAT HE WAS
Worker rescued from underground Costco gas tank after fainting, Sacramento Fire says
A worker who fainted while inside a gas tank in north Sacramento has been rescued, officials said Monday morning. First responders were dispatched around 10:45 a.m. to the Costco on Expo Parkway. A third-party crew member brought in by Costco to clean its underground holding tanks had either passed out from the gas fumes or experienced a medical emergency after making his way down, the Sacramento Fire Department said.The tank was emptied while the fuel pumps were being remodeled. After the man collapsed, the workers were unable to pull him out. A rescue and hazmat team was dispatched and rescued the man. He was taken to a nearby hospital while CPR was performed on him, the fire department said. He is in critical condition. He wasn’t breathing and had no heartbeat. The fuel tanks pose no threat to the public. People should avoid the gas station at this time as it remains closed while an investigation is underway, the fire department said.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
A worker who fainted while inside a gas tank in north Sacramento has been rescued, officials said Monday morning.
First responders were dispatched around 10:45 a.m. to the Costco on Expo Parkway. A third-party crew member brought in by Costco to clean its underground holding tanks had either passed out from the gas fumes or experienced a medical emergency after making his way down, the Sacramento Fire Department said.
The tank was emptied while the fuel pumps were being remodeled. After the man collapsed, the workers were unable to pull him out. A rescue and hazmat team was dispatched and rescued the man. He was taken to a nearby hospital while CPR was performed on him, the fire department said. He is in critical condition. He wasn’t breathing and had no heartbeat.
The fuel tanks pose no threat to the public. People should avoid the gas station at this time as it remains closed while an investigation is underway, the fire department said.
The Arlington County Fire Department in Virginia is rolling out new technology that it says can help save lives during medical emergencies.
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Arlington’s fire department is first in the state to invest in state-of-the-art heart monitors
The Arlington County Fire Department in Virginia is rolling out new technology that it says can help save lives during medical emergencies.
The LIFEPAK 35 cardiac monitor/defibrillator allows for continuous CPR, without interruption. It also sends a livestream of the cardiac incident to the hospital “so we can get the victim into the (catheterization laboratory) a lot faster than we could previously,” Capt. Justin Lucas said.
He added that the device’s digital touch screen will appeal to the department’s younger first responders.
Arlington’s fire department is the first in the state to acquire LIFEPAK 35 monitors. Department spokesperson Capt. Nate Hiner said the department spent $3.6 million for 37 LIFEPAK units as well as 19 LUCAS chest compression systems and 12 CR2 defibrillators.
Hiner said the department’s current cardiac monitors, also by manufacturer Stryker, have aged out. The new ones offer features and upgrades that will expedite and enhance critical care, he said.
“Arlington County Fire Department runs tens of thousands of medical calls per year, and every day, day in, day out, 365, these devices will be utilized,” Hiner said. “Just like technology changes with phones … medical technology changes as well.”
Capt. Lucas told WTOP every fire truck and ambulance will be outfitted with the new equipment, and it will take two months to train staff.
CHICAGO (WLS) — Many people don’t know what to do if someone is hurt after a shooting, stabbing or traumatic event.
Trauma training is being offered to community residents on Chicago’s South Side.
The 5th district Cook County Commissioner, Monica Gordon, partnered with Ujimaa Medics to hold a class Saturday at Roseland Community Hospital, and they will hold another class next weekend.
The classes teach people the basics of first aid.
“Knowing someone who has been shot is no longer a remote possibility,” Gordon said. “Just like we should learn the Heimlich Maneuver to save someone’s life from choking, we should learn what to do for a gunshot victim.”
The second trauma training class will be held next Saturday morning, March 30, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Prairie State College in Chicago Heights.
Concord, N.H. — Andy Hoang eagerly began her first nursing job this year in New Hampshire, with a desire to specialize in cardiac care.
She was excited about attending a November practice session on how to respond to someone in cardiac arrest. But as things were getting under way at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Hoang, 23, started to feel dizzy and nauseous. She felt she needed to sit down.
“That’s the last thing I remember,” she told The Associated Press in an interview. “I woke up to a room full of doctors and nurses.”
Andy Hoang, 23, a recent nursing graduate, center, poses on Dec. 5, 2023, in Lebanon, N.H. with co-workers Lisa Davenport, left, and Justina Terino at the spot where she was stricken the month before during a cardiac training session at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Charles Krupa / AP
It turned out that she, herself, had gone into cardiac arrest and needed help immediately. Her colleagues sprang into action – instead of practicing chest compressions on a mannequin in a simulated environment, they went to work on her.
“One checked her carotid, one her femoral (arteries), and she did not have a pulse,” instructor Lisa Davenport said.
The nurses started CPR and a “code blue,” or medical emergency, team was called.
A first
“What was really stressful about the situation was that we never had a real code blue in the center,” Davenport said. “We train for them all the time.”
Davenport shouted for help. Luckily, the Lebanon hospital’s critical care team was nearby, attending a separate session. More nurses came in, hooked Hoang up to defibrillator for monitoring, inserted an IV line and placed her on oxygen. A doctor and nurse from another department rushed in with crash carts.
Hoang was waking up by the time an emergency team arrived. Davenport estimated 15 minutes passed from the time Hoang slumped over to when they got her on a stretcher and sent her to the emergency department. But it felt longer.
“It worked out, but it was pretty frightening for all of us,” she said. “You just don’t expect that to happen with someone as young as Andy.”
Charmaine Martin, one of the nurses at the scene, agreed it was a scary moment, but also one “where I saw and felt supported and we all worked as a team,” she said in a statement.
Hoang, who recently returned to work, couldn’t believe what had happened either.
“I would say I’m your pretty average healthy 23-year-old,” she said. She goes to the gym four times a week, runs, and eats well. “I’m on my feet 12, 13 hours a day at work, so I want to make sure that I’m in shape for that.”
Cardiac arrest vs. heart attacks
Cardiac arrest – the sudden loss of heart function – causes more than 436,000 deaths in the United States each year, according to the American Heart Association. It is different from a heart attack, which happens when blood flow to the heart is blocked.
A person can suffer cardiac arrest after having a heart attack, but the association says other conditions can also disrupt the heart’s rhythm and lead to cardiac arrest, including having a thickened heart muscle or cardiomyopathy, heart failure, arrhythmias and more.
According to information compiled by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, a person’s risk of cardiac arrest increases with age. It is rare in someone younger than 30. Genetic arrhythmias, problems with the structure of the heart or coronary arteries, heart inflammation and substance abuse are the main risk factors in younger people. Most cardiac arrests also occur in men and women’s risk increases after menopause.
Unlikely victim
Hoang said before the day she suffered cardiac arrest, she had passed out twice before. The first time, she hadn’t eaten and her blood sugar was low. The second time was preceded by a sharp pain in her abdomen.
“So, nothing like this, nothing to this extent,” she said.
Hoang, who grew up in Vietnam and came to the United States in 2016 as a student, said her family has no history of heart problems. She had been living with a family in Montana before she got her nursing degree in Michigan, then headed to New Hampshire.
While recovering, Hoang wore a patch that recorded the electrical activity of her heart. Doctors hope to learn more from the data.
The experience has strengthened her relationship with the other nurses – Hoang now regards them as best friends. “We basically went through this whole life-or-death experience,” she said.
“I am so grateful for Andy and her courage. She is an excellent nurse and someone I call friend,” Martin said.
Hoang said she feels like she’s part of a family at work, not just an employee. Her family told the AP they are extremely grateful that she was surrounded by medical personnel when she went into cardiac arrest.
It was care given by nurses to her grandfather, who died a couple of years ago, that made Hoang want to switch her career focus from graphic design to nursing. But she never expected she would become a patient.
“It really changed my perspective on how I view life, like ‘Hug your family a little longer,’” she said. “Tell them that you love them, because it might be the last time you get to say it to them. And just cherish life for what you’ve been given. It’s precious, and I didn’t realize how precious it was until I nearly lost it.”
Raheem Morris, a defensive coordinator for the NFL Los Angeles Rams, has run many clutch plays in his career — but this has to be the best ever. Over the weekend, the football coach helped save a drowning child’s life at a hotel swimming pool.
The incident took place at the Encore Resort in Las Vegas, where Morris was spending time with his family. According to reports, a drowning 3-year-old boy was pulled from the pool by his father and rushed to a lifeguard. The lifeguard began to perform CPR after it was discovered the boy had no pulse.
Thinking fast, Morris sprung to action and ran over to the scene.
“I saw people calling 911 so my first question was, where is the AED?” Morris told ESPN. An AED is an automatic external defibrillator, which is used to deliver an electrical shock, or defibrillation, to help the heart re-establish an effective rhythm.
Morris was able to locate a device and raced it over to the struggling boy.
“We had a doctor on site that was able to start the compressions. I was able to hand the AED to him, get it open for him, put the pads on the child, and he ended up being OK,” Morris said.
Morris’s wife Nicole wrote about the harrowing ordeal in an Instagram post, saying that the child was discharged from the hospital 24 hours later.
Morris was quick to give credit to the recent CPR and AED training offered by the Rams. NFL teams have been ramping up efforts like this ever since Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlinsuffered a heart attack during an NFL game in January. Thankfully, medical professionals on the scene were able to act quickly and use an AED to restart Hamlin’s heart.
Hamlin himself was on Capitol Hill in March advocating for a new bipartisan legislation called “Access to AEDs Act.” The bill increase the training and availability of AEDs on school campuses.
Morris told ESPN how the Hamlin incident and the recent tragic drowning of Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Shaquil Barrett’s 2-year-old daughter, has helped him be more aware of how important it is to be prepared for moments like these.
“I’m just thankful I knew what to do,” Raheem Morris said. “You just never know when you’re going to need that stuff.”
John Sculli suffered an on-court “widow maker” heart attack while officiating a semi-pro basketball game last June. Player Myles Copeland rushed to Sculli’s side, performed CPR, and saved his life. The two recently reunited in the gym where it all happened. Steve Hartman has their story in “On the Road.”
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Trump criticized for violent rhetoric against Manhattan DA’s office; Basketball referee reunites with player who saved his life after on-court heart attack
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The new state-of-the-art facility serves San Leandro, Oakland, Alameda, and San Lorenzo by offering flexible and affordable courses in lifesaving skills.
The San Leandro training center is located at 433 Callan Avenue, Suite 307, San Leandro, CA 94577. Its central location is ideal for serving professionals in Oakland, Alameda, San Lorenzo, and Berkeley. Like its other California locations, Safety Training Seminars’ San Leandro location will offer a flexible schedule of daily classes with multiple sessions each day.
Those seeking initial or renewal certification in CPR, BLS, ACLS, and PALS can find the appropriate classes to meet their certification needs at the San Leandro office. Each of Safety Training Seminars’ courses offers a flexible blend of online learning components and on-site skills testing. All courses will result in customers receiving the official American Heart Association certification card.
ACLS Heartcode courses offer both initial and renewal certification in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support. Attendees learn the importance of continuous, high-quality CPR and how to administer it correctly. ACLS Heartcode programs are designed for professionals who respond to cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies.
CPR and First-Aid courses are ideal for a wide range of people who may respond to emergency situations, including teachers, babysitters, grandparents, supervisors, and more. During these courses, attendees learn how to administer CPR for infants, children, and adults and achieve certification post-completion. Lifesaving skills covered in the course include chokesaving, AED use, bleeding treatment, seizures, EpiPen®administration, burn treatment, and more.
BLS CPR Provider courses help attendees recognize life-threatening emergencies, properly administer chest compressions, perform ventilation, and use AEDs. Participants seeking initial or renewal certification in Basic Life Support fundamentals are invited to attend.
“The opening of our new location helps us expand access to training programs for Californians seeking to learn critical lifesaving skills by providing reasonably priced, flexible training schedules for those in and around San Leandro,” said Laura Seidel, owner of Safety Training Seminars.
Safety Training Seminars has provided crucial courses for certification and lifesaving training since 1989. The woman-owned company offers certification classes in CPR, First Aid, BLS, ACLS, PALS, NRP, & EMSA Childcare. With more than 30 locations across Northern California, Safety Training Seminars is dedicated to providing affordable, flexible training in welcoming classrooms furnished with the most up-to-date training resources and equipment. To learn more about Safety Training Seminars and its locations across California, visit www.bayareacpr.org.
The newly launched state-of-the-art facility offers flexible and affordable courses for those seeking American Heart Association certification courses in the Daly City, Burlingame, South San Francisco area.
The Daly City training center is located in Serramonte Office Plaza, 333 Gellert Blvd, Suite 215, Daly City, CA 94015. To meet the needs of busy professionals, the new center offers a flexible schedule of daily classes Monday through Sunday. Individuals interested in initial or renewal certifications in CPR, BLS, ACLS, and PALS can choose the courses at the Daly City CPR office relevant to their needs. Programs are a blend of online learning components and on-site skills testing. All programs result in students receiving the official American Heart Association certification card (valid for two years).
BLS CPR Provider Heartcode courses lead to initial or renewal certification in Basic Life Support fundamentals. Upon course completion, attendees will be able to recognize various life-threatening emergencies and properly administer chest compressions, perform ventilation, and use AEDs. This course is also called BLS Provider or BLS Healthcare Provider.
ACLS Heartcode courses teach the necessary skills for competency in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support. Both initial and renewal certification are available. During this course, attendees learn about the importance of continuous, high-quality CPR. ACLS Heartcode programs are ideal for those responding to cardiopulmonary arrest or other cardiovascular emergencies.
Adult and Pediatric Heartsaver CPR and First-Aid Heartcode courses show attendees how to administer CPR for infants, children, and adults. Attendees receive certification upon completion. Additional lifesaving skills covered in the course include chokesaving, AED use, bleeding treatment, seizures, EpiPen®, and more. The skills taught in this course are valuable for a wide range of participants, including teachers, camp counselors, and childcare providers who require EMSA certification.
According to Laura Seidel, owner of Safety Training Seminars, “Our purpose is to increase access to training programs for Californians seeking to learn critical lifesaving skills. Armed with these skills, they can advance in their careers or feel confident to intervene during an emergency. Our Daly City facility advances our mission by providing reasonably priced, flexible training schedules for those in and around Daly City.”
Since 1989, Safety Training Seminars has provided crucial courses for certification. The woman-owned company offers certification classes in CPR, First Aid, BLS, ACLS, PALS, NRP, and EMSA Childcare. Safety Training Seminars is dedicated to providing affordable, flexible training with the most up-to-date training equipment. Learn more about Safety Training Seminars and its more than 30 locations across Northern California. Visit www.bayareacpr.org.
When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed during a football game Monday night after suffering a cardiac arrest, Heather O’Donnell said it confirmed her greatest fear.
“It was like watching my worst nightmare,” said Heather O’Donnell, whose 10-year-old son, Jack, plays hockey in Virginia. “He could get hit in the wrong place. Something could happen. No sport is 100% safe.”
Dr. Korin Hudson, a MedStar Health emergency physician, said what happened to Hamlin can “absolutely” happen to a child.
“It can happen at any time,” said Hudson, who works with teams like the Washington Wizards and Capitals. “[It’s] very rare, but we do know it may happen as frequently as once every five days.”
“Now, there are a lot of athletes in high school and collegiate sports in this country,” Hudson said. “But once every five days is probably more often than we think about.”
Hudson said the best way to be prepared for the potential is to have the training and equipment necessary to respond.
Hudson said parents should know where the closest AED is, always have a way to dial 911, ask coaches if they know CPR, and make sure their school or club has an emergency action plan.
“You can learn how to use an AED in less than two minutes,” Hudson said. “Anybody can do these skills.”
The American Heart Association offers online courses teaching CPR and how to use an AED, Hudson said.
Jan. 3, 2023 — What can happen if your brain loses oxygen for an extended period?
During Monday night’s Buffalo Bills vs. Cincinnati Bengals game, NFL fans watched nervously as Bills safety Damar Hamlin lay flat on this back surrounded by medical personnel, teammates, and coaching staff.
Hamlin, 24, had just tackled a Bengals receiver late in the opening quarter when he stood up and immediately collapsed.
The Buffalo Bills, in a statement, said Hamlin had experienced cardiac arrest on the field and is sedated and in critical condition at University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
Cardiac arrest is when there is an electrical malfunction to the heart — which can create an irregular heartbeat– and the heart’s pumping function is compromised, according to Laxmi Mehta, MD, director of preventive cardiology and women’s cardiovascular health at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. When this happens, there is not effective pumping of blood to organs, including the brain and lungs, and severe damage can occur.
Hamlin had his heartbeat restored on the field after nearly 10 minutes of CPR and oxygen via an AED machine, better known as a defibrillator, a medical device that delivers an electrical shock to help your heartbeat return to normal rhythm, according to reports.
Since crucial information of Hamlin’s condition has yet to be released publicly, certain — now widely circulated — details of Hamlin’s injuries can still be deemed “speculation,” Mehta says. Therefore, while Hamlin may have received CPR and oxygen assistance for several minutes, we can’t be certain “he didn’t get adequate [oxygen] flow.”
“The point of doing CPR is you’re doing those chest compressions — you’re forcing the heart to pump. So we would assume he had a circulation of blood flow to the brain. But if people don’t get CPR done in a timely fashion, or if they don’t get effective chest compressions, then yes, there can be a lack of adequate blood flow, lack of oxygen, and can cause some brain damage,” she says.
This phenomenon, called anoxic brain injury, can result in stroke-like effects, including seizures, the inability to move certain body parts, slurred speech, and trouble forming sentences, says Mehta.
THURSDAY, Oct. 27, 2022 (HealthDay News) — When someone collapses in front of witnesses, the chances of receiving potentially lifesaving CPR may partly depend on the color of their skin, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that when Black and Hispanic Americans suffer cardiac arrest, they are up to 37% less likely than white people to receive bystander CPR in public places and at home.
The reasons for the disparity are not certain, but there are potential explanations, said senior researcher Dr. Paul Chan, of Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Mo.
CPR trainings, he said, are less available in Black and Hispanic communities, and there are other barriers like cost, which may help account for the disparities in responses to at-home cardiac arrests.
But going into the study, the researchers expected that disparities would be lessened when cardiac arrests happened in public. With more people around, the chances that a bystander would be trained in CPR are greater.
Instead, the disparities were greater: Among cardiac arrests that happened at home, Black and Hispanic individuals were 26% less likely than white people to receive CPR. In public settings, that gap grew to 37%.
“That was striking. It wasn’t what we expected to see,” Chan said. “And it raises a lot of questions about why.”
Unfortunately, bias — conscious or not — could play a role, said Chan and other experts. Bystanders may be less likely to “make assumptions” about a white person who collapses, versus a Black or Hispanic person, Chan said.
Disparities were not, however, confined to cardiac arrests that struck in white neighborhoods, he noted.
Across neighborhoods of all incomes, and even in those that were majority Black or Hispanic, white cardiac arrest victims were more likely to receive bystander CPR.
Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating normally, due to a problem in its electrical system. Usually, the person collapses into unconsciousness and stops breathing normally. It is quickly fatal without emergency medical treatment.
If a bystander immediately starts CPR chest compressions, that can keep blood and oxygen flowing in the victim’s body until paramedics arrive. But in reality, only about 45% of Americans who suffer cardiac arrest outside of a hospital receive bystander CPR, according to the American Heart Association.
The new findings, published Oct. 27 in the New England Journal of Medicine, are in line with that statistic.
Chan’s team used a large U.S. registry to find more than 110,000 cases of cardiac arrest where witnesses were present. Despite that, most victims did not receive CPR, with rates particularly low for Black and Hispanic people.
When they suffered cardiac arrest at home, about 39% received CPR, versus 47% of white people. And when the arrest happened in public, just under 46% of Black and Hispanic victims received CPR, versus 60% of their white counterparts.
Such disparities were seen whether the surrounding neighborhood was mostly white, racially diverse, or majority Black or Hispanic, and whether it was high- or low-income.
“It’s sad, it’s heartbreaking,” said Dr. Katie Berlacher, a member of the American College of Cardiology Health Equity Task Force and a cardiologist at the University of Pittsburgh.
Yet she also said she was not surprised. Even though more people are available to respond to a cardiac arrest in a public setting, Berlacher said, those people can have biases, conscious or not. Those biases, she noted, can affect how quickly they approach the person who collapsed, call 911 or try to find someone who knows CPR.
Dr. Anezi Uzendu has worked with the heart association in developing a “toolkit” for reducing disparities in cardiac arrest care and survival. He is also a cardiac arrest survivor, thanks in part to the action of bystanders who administered CPR after he collapsed, at age 25, while playing basketball at his gym.
“It can happen to anybody,” said Uzendu, who is also a cardiologist with Saint Luke’s but was not involved in the study.
Uzendu beat the odds, as cardiac arrest survival is low, at around 12%, according to the heart association. And studies show that survival is even lower for Black and Hispanic people, versus whites.
CPR can double or triple the chances of survival, and it’s been thought that better access to CPR training could close the racial divide in cardiac arrest survival.
But the new findings indicate that CPR training is not the sole solution, Uzendu said.
“Some of this disparity may be due to lack of training,” he said. “Some of it may be due to structural racism. Some of it may be due to implicit or explicit biases.”
That said, all three doctors agreed that greater access to CPR training could make a big difference — particularly since an estimated 70% of cardiac arrests happen at home, where bias would presumably not be the issue.
One way to do that, Chan said, is by offering free or low-cost trainings at convenient locations such as churches or community centers in underserved neighborhoods.
Trainings should also involve people of color, Berlacher said — from instructors to the actors in the course videos.
As for cardiac arrest survival, Chan’s team found what previous studies have: Black and Hispanic people more often died. Of those who suffered cardiac arrest in public, just under 23% survived, compared with almost 32% of white people.
“CPR can make a huge difference in survival,” Chan said.
More information
The American Heart Association has more on learning CPR.
SOURCES: Paul S. Chan, MD, professor, medicine, cardiologist, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, Mo.; Kathryn Berlacher, MD, MS, assistant professor, medicine, medical director, Magee Women’s Heart Program, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, and member, Health Equity Task Force, American College of Cardiology, Washington, D.C.; Anezi Uzendu, MD, interventional cardiologist, Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute; New England Journal of Medicine, Oct. 27, 2022
