Hanover Park AED a real life saver
In March a Centre Court Athletic Club, Hanover Park, patron ran out of a tennis court yelling for someone to call 911, one of his teammates was down and undergoing cardiac arrest.
Immediately, customer service representative Lorna Denig, got on the phone and called 911 for help. She gave instructions to the 911 operator on how to get to the facility and then ran out to the court where the incident was taking place with an AED, (Automated External Defibrillator,) in hand.
When she arrived at the scene there were people gathered around the victim and a tennis player was administering cardio pulmonary resuscitation; luckily he was a physician. Denig was a bit afraid, yet completely in control of the situation, when prompted by the physician, she opened up the AED and the doctor applied the pads. After the device assessed the victim, the AED prompted to shock the individual. Denig pressed the button to administer the shock on the AED, then immediately got up and cleared everyone watching, away from the victim. After the shock, the victim regained a pulse. Denig handed the CPR microshield to the doctor to start rescue breathing and soon after the victim began to breathe without any help.
The paramedics arrived within minutes and took the victim to the nearest hospital. Denig went back to the front desk to fill out an incident report; the physician thanked her for being so helpful and staying calm throughout the whole time, he added that he was thankful for participating in a facility that had a mask and an AED available and the staff trained to use it.
Denig commented that even though her yearly orientation was done several months ago, the steps to take came back to her immediately and she was able to take action with no hesitation. She added, "I felt a bit shocked after the incident, but more than anything I was just thankful the victim was alive, had it not been for the AED and the quick response the results could have been very different. This experience taught me that you should always be aware of your surroundings and stay up to date on any first aid and safety precautions, because you never know when you may need them".
The Hanover Park Park District board of commissioners recognized Denig for the outstanding job she did during the incident at its March 23 board meeting. She will also be awarded with the "Catch Staff Doing Something Good" recognition program of the Hanover Park Park District.