July 17, 2007

CONTACT:
Communications Department
(320) 251-2700, ext. 74980

Take Heart St. Cloud honors first responders for cardiac arrest aid

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Take Heart St. Cloud honored twenty individuals at a June 15 ceremony for emergency aid they provided in three cases of cardiac arrest. The event, held at St. Cloud Hospital, recognized first responders including police, fire, and ambulance personnel as well as civilian bystanders.

One honoree was Vikki Gore, a registered nurse at St. Cloud Hospital, who was recognized for emergency aid she provided as a bystander to a St. Cloud man in May.

Gore was first on the scene after an elderly driver suffered a heart attack and collided with a building on the northeast side of St. Cloud. She established an airway, performed CPR, and assisted St. Cloud Police officer Sue Proshek in using a portable defibrillator to regain a heartbeat.

The man, who had been traveling to his granddaughter’s wedding, was transported to St. Cloud Hospital where he made a full recovery.

Jenny Bauerly, also an off-duty RN, assisted the pair in performing two-person CPR. Both Bauerly and Proshek were recognized at the ceremony.

Also honored were St. Cloud Fire Department members Andrew Fish, Todd Cariveau, Jeff Gendreau, Adam Morris, Scot Olson, Chris Mueller and Marc Cassen; St. Cloud Police officers Tomas Villanueva and Jeff Oxton; Sartell Police officers Kelly Mader and Jason Thompson; and Gold Cross EMTs James Meder, Denise Molus, Robert Dvorak, Jeff Ellingworth, Tara Ogle and Eli Deeb.

The event’s host, Take Heart St. Cloud, is part of the nation-wide Take Heart America program. The project aims to increase the survival rate of sudden cardiac arrest through community-wide training, distribution of new technology and implementation of new in-hospital treatments. St. Cloud is among only three cities in the country that have been selected to implement the program.

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