Lifeguards train to respond to emergencies that happen in or around water. Those skills were put into action last February for three certified lifeguards who saved an unresponsive man at the Upper Perkiomen YMCA.

On Wednesday, the luckywin presented YMCA employees Joshua Bennett, Caitlyn McKelvy and Cole Speilman with a聽Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders聽for stepping up and using their training.

Caitlyn, who is an aquatics supervisor and lifeguard instructor at the Y, was off duty and in the women鈥檚 locker room when she heard the series of loud whistles that signal an emergency. The lifeguard on duty directed her to the men鈥檚 locker room where a 59-year-old man was unconscious. She assessed the gentleman and found he wasn鈥檛 breathing and had no pulse.

Joshua Bennett, the Y鈥檚 aquatics director, was at the front desk when he received the incident report. Having also heard the alert whistles, Cole Speilman, senior program director, arrived at the front desk and the two ran down the hallway to the men鈥檚 locker room with an automated external defibrillator (AED) in tow.

Joshua began chest compressions and administered oxygen, and Cole applied the AED, which advised them to administer a shock. After the shock, the man began breathing, his pulse resumed and he regained consciousness. They stayed with him until EMS arrived.

Despite Caitlyn, Joshua and Cole being certified lifeguards and lifeguard instructors with more than 22 years of experience between them, this was the first time any of them responded to a live-action incident.

When asked about her initial reaction to hearing the whistles, Caitlyn 鈥� who is also a nursing student at Montgomery County Community College 鈥� says she questioned whether she was the best person respond. She quickly realized that, yes, she was, and this is what she trained for.

Joshua acknowledged that doing chest compressions on a living person is a lot different than doing them on a CPR mannequin, especially the sound of the ribs being compressed, but the training prepared him for the real thing.

Cole says it felt comfortable to have Caitlyn and Joshua with him during the incident. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been working together for three years. I felt like we could do this.鈥�

YMCA Executive Director Rob Carpenter, who nominated the three for the Lifesaving Award commended their quick response. 鈥淭hey slowed everything down and followed the training to the T,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he training works!鈥�

After the incident, Caitlyn, Joshua and Cole held an in-service day for YMCA staff, walking through the response and using it as a teaching tool. They also got to eat lunch with the gentleman they saved that day, which was especially meaningful.

Lifesaving Awards program

The Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders is awarded to Red Cross-trained first responders and healthcare professionals acting while on duty. It is one of four awards given as part of the Red Cross Lifesaving Awards program. To聽聽and recognize a person or group who has taken action to save or sustain a life, visit聽LifesavingAwards.org.

---------------

Written by Alana Mauger