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| Contact: Christine Hill (612) 873-5719 |
01/20/09 |
On Wednesday, January 21, volunteer University of Minnesota Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT's) who came to the aid of a man experiencing a cardiac arrest at Northrop Auditorium will be given “The Beat Goes On” award for saving his life by using a public-access automatic external defibrillator (AED). The award is sponsored by Hennepin County Medical Center’s (HCMC) Emergency Medical Services Education Department and is given to Minnesota Emergency Medical Service providers who use an AED to defibrillate a person in cardiac arrest resulting in a pulse on the patient’s arrival to the hospital.
On Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008, Victoria and Alan Manuel were at Northrop Auditorium to see comedian Robin Williams perform his “Weapons of Self Destruction” show. A few minutes before the show was to begin, while getting to their seats, Alan went into cardiac arrest and collapsed.
“I heard someone call out ‘is there a doctor in the house?’ and at first, I just thought it was part of the show,” explains retired firefighter Francis Blaha, who has also worked as an emergency room technician. “When I heard someone scream, I knew it wasn’t a scene from ‘Patch Adams.’ It was the real thing.”
Blaha, who was seated near the front of the auditorium, quickly made his way through the developing crowd surrounding Alan Manuel. “He didn’t have a pulse and he wasn’t breathing,” said Blaha. “So we started doing CPR.”
Blaha assisted with CPR, keeping track of Manuel’s pulse and respirations until the U of M EMTs arrived and placed an AED on Manuel’s chest. After two shocks, the patient’s heartbeat was re-established, and he was transported to HCMC by ambulance. Manuel received treatment at the hospital for several days; he recovered and was able to go home without any neurological deficits.
“This was my first experience in a true cardiac arrest situation in the field,” says EMT Sean Ewen. “As EMTs we do a lot of training in cardiac arrest management using the AED on patient models so that when a situation like this occurs, we know exactly what needs to be done, even with environmental factors such as the dark and noisy auditorium we encountered in Northrop. I will never forget this experience and am very happy for the positive outcome. It has taught me the importance of having public access AEDs available.”
Hennepin County Medical Center’s Emergency Medical Services Education Department sponsors an AED recognition program for Minnesota Emergency Medical Service providers called “The Beat Goes On.” Award recipients must have used an AED to defibrillate a person in cardiac arrest resulting in a pulse on the patient’s arrival to the hospital. Recipients are awarded a specially designed pin and certificate to acknowledge his/her achievement.
University of Minnesota EMTs Sean Ewen, Erin Broberg, Kenneth Dodd, Michael Knudsen, Paul Munoz and Mike Ring will be given The Beat Goes On Award at a ceremony on Wednesday, January 21 at 10 a.m. in Northrop Auditorium’s Gold Room. Francis Blaha will also be recognized as a member of the team of responders. The patient and his family members plan to attend, as well as staff from HCMC’s Emergency Medical Services Department.
Beyond celebrating the wonderful outcome of the medical event, emergency responders want to highlight the importance of public access AEDs and CPR training. The EMTs will demonstrate the operation of an AED, offering hands-on interaction for anyone interested.
Hennepin County Medical Center is celebrating its 20th year as Minnesota’s first Level 1 Trauma Center. For the twelfth year in a row, Hennepin County Medical Center is listed in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of the top U.S. Hospitals in its annual “America’s Best Hospitals” report.
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