By ROD ZOOK
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The actions of two Hutchinson citizens saved a man's life and, for that, they were honored Thursday afternoon.
For Tim Herrman, Oct. 2 probably seemed like a typical fall day when he arrived at Midwest Superstore in Hutchinson, not knowing he would soon experience a life-threatening medical emergency.
Herrman was enjoying the day when he went into cardiac arrest. Midwest Superstore staff promptly summoned 911, but there is even more to this story. Britnea Weaver, a nurse with the Hutchinson Clinic, was at the business and Greg Flores, an employee of Midwest Superstore, stepped forward to perform CPR. Soon, EMS personnel were on the scene and Herrman was transported to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center where he was treated and made a full recovery.
“I was talking to my manager and his wife came in and was really calm, and said, 'somebody needs to call 911,'” Flores said. “I walked out there to find him not breathing. He was blue and he didn’t have a heartbeat.”
Weaver and Flores traded off providing CPR until EMS arrived 10 minutes later, although both said it felt like forever. Flores learned CPR at Hutchinson High School and Weaver, who was actually there to buy Herrman's pickup that he was trading in, is certified because of her profession. Weaver says CPR is not as easy as it looks, but is easy to learn and stressed that it's a skill everyone should have.
“There is skill that goes into it,” Weaver said. “The depth you need to go (compression) . . . the speed, if you need to be giving breaths, there’s a lot that goes into it.”
Dave Johnston, director of Reno County EMS, says the action of Weaver and Flores made all of the difference in saving Herrman.
“Because these citizens were there and were able to start CPR right away, they had this patient ready to receive all the treatment they needed,” Johnston said. “It’s just really exciting.”
Johnston hopes getting the word out about the action of Weaver and Flores will get more people to learn the skill of CPR.
“Our hope is that this will inspire more people to go out and learn CPR,” Johnston said. “So they are ready to respond whether it’s a family member, or a citizen, or someone in their church or school that goes down.”
Weaver and Flores both received the Citizen Lifesaving Award presented by Reno County EMS and the Hutchinson Regional Medical Center in a ceremony at 1 p.m. Thursday at Midwest Superstore. While they were being honored, Flores said he wanted to stress that EMS and first responders do this every day and they are the real heroes.
The EMS crew that responded to the scene that day were also on-hand to see Weaver and Flores get their awards.
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