ROCHESTER, MN--Three police officers on Wednesday were awarded for their quick actions that helped save two lives in Rochester.
Police patrolmen Charles Pendlebury, John Gantert, and Adam Ducharme were awarded with Life Saving Awards on Wednesday, for their life-saving uses of CPR and the automated external defibrillator (AED).
About a month ago, Pendlebury and Gantert responded to a call about a woman who was unresponsive and had no pulse. On scene, Pendlebury began doing chest compressions, while Gantert was setting up the AED, which was then administered to the woman.
According to Police Chief Michael Allen, by the time EMTs arrived and the woman was being transported to the hospital, she was breathing and had a pulse.
“Eventually she just took a breath,” said Gantert. “It’s pretty remarkable.”
For Ducharme, his Life Saving Award came after his first time administering CPR. About a month ago, he responded to an echo-level medical alert, involving a woman’s life being in danger because she was not breathing. On scene at the woman’s home, he found her sitting up in bed unconscious, not breathing and having no pulse.
Ducharme, and another person who was at the home, laid the woman down on the floor, on her back, and Ducharme began to get the AED device ready. Paramedics then arrived to the scene and finished preparing the AED device, while Ducharme performed chest compressions. He said he did chest compressions for “awhile,” before the woman’s pulse started coming back and she was transported to Frisbie Memorial Hospital.
During Wednesday’s ceremony, Allen said Ducharme gave the woman a fighting chance of survival.
According to Ducharme, performing CPR for the first time was “pretty intense,” because someone else’s life depended on him doing things right.
Both women who were saved with the help of the three officers last month are believed to have survived.
According to Allen, all Rochester police cruisers are equipped with the AED device, which has helped save many lives. He said that in emergency situations, police officers are frequently the first ones to arrive on scene, and in cases where time is of the essence, the officers’ use of CPR and AED can increase the chance of patients surviving.
The three officers on Wednesday were honored by the Police Commission.
“The patrolmen in Rochester are top-notch,” he said.
SOURCE: Fosters.com