Washington Co., WI – During a public safety meeting the Washington County Sheriff played an emotional 911 call and presented staff acknowledgements to a communications officer and four deputies that responded to a medical call.
Summary of call:
On April 11, 2024, at 11:40 p.m. Communications Officer Meier received a 911 call from a woman who reported her 65-year-old husband had stopped breathing.
Communications Officer Meier immediately requested her co-workers page the Jackson Fire Department and Sheriff’s Office staff to the home while she stayed online with the wife while providing CPR instruction using Emergency Medical Dispatching protocols to the wife and son.
Deputy Kalish arrived at the home within 1 minute and 8 seconds and was able to hook up the AED (Automated External Defibrillator) and began CPR.
Sgt. Hood, along with Deputies Gallenbeck and Nurkala, assisted with care and provided the patient with three shocks from the AED while continuing CPR until EMS professionals from the Jackson Fire Department arrived on scene. Rescue personnel shocked the patient two additional times and were able to get a pulse back.
This call demonstrates how the total EMS system worked to provide early life-saving intervention to a citizen who was in cardiac arrest.
The caller was able to call 911 right away, the communications center promptly had first responders summoned while simultaneously providing CPR instruction over the phone. Deputies were then able to get the AED hooked up quickly and continue CPR until our highly trained fire department partners took over patient care.
During the meeting the patient was able to meet and thank the first responders for the first time.
Pictured below from left to right:
Sgt. Hood, Communications Officer Meier, Adam (son), Lynn (wife), Mark (patient – notice the T-Shirt), Deputy Gallenbeck, Deputy Kalish, and Sheriff Schulteis. Not pictured is Deputy Nurkala.