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From left to right: Dixon Recreation Center employees Miles Dodge, Trow Snow, Joey Jenkins and Ben Misley in a photograph from Spring 2007. They were the first to respond to a heart attack victim Wednesday morning.

Dixon student employees save heart attack victim

Student informs Dixon Rec Center staff of man in cardiac arrest, student employees step in to save his life by using Automated External Defibrillator

By: Taryn Luna

Posted: 4/10/09

Three student-workers of the Dixon Recreation Center used an Automated External Defibrillator Wednesday morning to save the life of an OSU faculty member found lying in the men's locker room unconscious, not breathing and with no pulse.

An AED is used to administer electrical shock to restore a victim's heart beat in a situation of sudden cardiac arrest.

At approximately 7:30 a.m., OSU business student and Dixon employee Miles Dodge, 21, said he was working in the area when a student came up to him in a towel and informed him that a man had fallen down and was on the ground in the locker room.

Sports Facilities and Operations Coordinator Troy Snow said Dodge was on the scene within 30 to 45 seconds of the man's collapse.

"I went in un-expecting and then I saw it and my first reaction was 'Oh crap, wow, this is it,'" Dodge said. "I didn't think after that; I just responded."

Dodge radioed for someone to call 911.

The man's head was lying in a pool of blood from a gash on his forehead, and Dodge immediately discovered that the man didn't have a pulse and wasn't breathing. Dodge asked Michael Tasman, the OSU Triathlon Club coach who had flocked to the scene with him and was trained in CPR, to watch the man while he went to get an AED. Tasman confirmed that there were no signs of life and opened the man's airway.

Less than 30 seconds later, Dodge returned with the AED. Dixon employee Joey Jenkins, who was not on the clock but using the locker room, and Ben Misley, another off-duty employee, heard about what was going on and responded to the scene to help.

"Having Joey and Ben there gave me a lot of confidence because there are no two other guys I'd rather have with me," Dodge said. Jenkins had previously acted as a mentor to both Dodge and Misley through a system set up for Rec Sports employees.

As Dodge prepared the mask to perform mouth to mouth, Misley cut off the man's shirt and Jenkins set up the AED.

Once Jenkins placed the AED pads on the victim's chest and side, the AED recommended a shock be administered. After the shock, the AED is set up to analyze the victim and advise responders on what to do next. Another shock was not advised.

According to Dodge, he gave the victim two rescue breaths that seemed to go in and the men began CPR on the victim.

The man's pulse came back with irregular breathing.

"It was perfect timing because once we got to that point where we had done all that we were trained to, the EMTs arrived on the scene," Dodge said.

Less than a minute after the shock was administered and four minutes after the 911 call had been made, EMTs took over.

The man was suspected of having a heart attack and was transported to Good Samaritan Medical Hospital where he underwent heart surgery yesterday.

"I am very proud of our staff and how they handled the situation," Snow said. He performed crowd control during the situation. "They did an excellent job and even got that comment from the fire department battalion chief."

"We did a debriefing after and they did everything by the book, exactly to protocol," Snow said.

Dixon student employees are certified in Professional Rescuer CPR with AED, First Aid, and Blood-borne Pathogens. Employees go through an extensive training program that requires them to learn safety procedures, attend monthly in-service meetings and pass annual audits at random in which they are required to respond accurately to a pseudo emergency situation.

"Being true to how we train the staff, we don't always know how things are going to go for everyone," said Bill Callender, associate director of facilities and risk management. "You train for situations that are never step by step because every condition is totally different. In a situation like this, you do all that you possibly can, like our staff did, and hope that it comes out positively."

Tasman believes the young men's "exemplary" reaction is due to their training.

"They were succinct and professional and I am amazed at how well they worked. If I ever have a heart attack, I want to be at the Dixon Rec Center," he said. "I think it directly reflects their supervision. Although they are young, Troy has created an environment of professionalism where these students are highly trained and know exactly how to respond to an emergency."

According to Snow and Callender, the Dixon staff has created a culture of caring that surrounds the facility. This culture, they say, contributed to the successful rescue on Wednesday, as the closest employees to the incident, regardless of whether they were being paid to work or not at the time, were able to respond quickly to save the victim.

Among positive reinforcements the staff received, the victim's family has showed gratitude as well.

"His family came in yesterday and said if they didn't have the AED and if our staff hadn't responded as quickly, the rescue probably would not have been successful," Snow said.

Taryn Luna, senior reporter

news@dailybarometer.com, 737-2231