Minnesota Nurses Save Lives Off the Job

According do Hennepin County Medical Center two of their nurses used their training this year away from the hospital.

Registered Nurse Annie Swanson was at her niece’s college graduation ceremony from Drake University when Glenn Koenen went into cardiac arrest.

“I jumped over the seats and found a man slumped over on the bleachers,” explains Swanson. “He didn’t have a pulse. I asked his wife about his cardiac history, and she said that he had bypass surgery 10 years ago. I immediately began CPR.”

Swanson performed chest compressions on Glenn Koenen until the paramedics arrived. He was taken to the nearest hospital where he underwent double bypass surgery.

“I’m very happy that there are still people out there who care enough to help,” says Koenen. “I can’t thank Annie enough for watch she’s done. Her actions speak so well of your hospital.”

Also this year nurse Mickey Hayes was driving on University Avenue in Fridley when she came upon the scene of a car crash.

“I saw a man trapped in his car,” said Hayes, “He was at a stoplight and had been rear-ended by a large truck. He struck the dashboard so hard that his seat broke when the impact propelled him backwards. I could see that he wasn’t breathing, and the only way I could get to him was through the back window.”

With her feet dangling through the broken rear window, Hayes reached Thomas Harrigan and was able to secure his airway and re-establish respirations.

“I have no doubt that Mickey saved my life,” says Harrigan, who has nominated Hayes for the City of Fridley’s Citizen’s Service Award. “Her response was nothing short of heroic.