Calm under pressure

MOSES LAKE — Some Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center students saved a life Sept. 19.

“We were there volunteering with the (Walk to End Alzheimer’s), and we were pulling up the back end,” said CBTECH Medical Assistant Instructor Rachael Buchanan. “One of our welding students tapped me on the shoulder and said, ‘Nurse Rachael, I think someone needs help.’ And there was a guy lying in the grass at Sinkiuse Square, very gray, in an unnatural position.”

Buchanan had a contingent of about 35 students, she said, two of whom had been in her class the year before and were now in the certified nursing assistant program. 

Tyler Crump, who was also doing the walk with his wife Claire, had just spotted the same man, who appeared to have suffered an overdose.

“(He was) just catching a snooze in the sun, is what it looked like,” Crump said. “And my wife said, ‘Why don’t you go check on him?’ I ran over there and nudged him and said, ‘Hey, wake up, buddy,’ and there was nothing initially. I got down on my knees and really started shaking him and yelling, ‘Hey, I really need you to wake up, and still nothing.”

Crump drew on his Boy Scout first aid training and began doing sternum rubs on the man, then called 911 to report the emergency.

“At that moment Nurse Rachael came around the corner, and she heard me say ‘no pulse,’ and she jumped in.”

“I made sure it was safe for the kids and immediately started CPR, and then called the students over to come do compressions, and they all jumped in, no hesitation.”

The students took turns doing about 10 rounds of compressions, Buchanan said, with another walk participant holding the man’s airway open, until a police officer arrived to administer Narcan.

“Ten, 15 seconds later, his eyes were wide open and he started talking to us,” Crump said.

The two nursing students, Mia Guerrero and Zoe Meranda, had learned CPR in class, Buchanan said. Also taking their turns at CPR were students Serenity Perez and Analii Luna.

The man survived but refused medical assistance beyond the Narcan, according to the Moses Lake Police report. The outcome could have been much worse, Buchanan said.

“CPR is only about 10 percent effective,” she said. “Ninety percent of the time the person doesn’t make it.”

The students were honored by the MLPD at a ceremony on Wednesday, according to the school’s social media.

All the students showed unusual presence of mind for their age, Buchanan said.

“I’ve worked in (emergency rooms) all my life,” she said. “To have someone who’s never seen it, especially 16- and 17-year-olds, just jump in and be like, 'Let’s do that,' that’s amazing.”

    From left: CBTECH students Serenity Perez, Zoe Meranda and Analii Luna and instructor Rachael Buchanan with first responders from the Moses Lake police and fire departments.