Gwen Gernenz - CNA Heroes on CNA-TV
Channel: CNA TV - NAHCA Broadcasting Network
Date: 2019-08-17

CPR – or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation – is an emergency lifesaving procedure performed when the heart stops beating. According to the American Heart Association: 
• Immediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival after cardiac arrest.  
• In one year alone, 475,000 Americans die from a cardiac arrest. 
• Globally, cardiac arrest claims more lives than colorectal cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, influenza, pneumonia, auto accidents, HIV, firearms, and house fires combined. 
• More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur outside of the hospital each year. 
• About 90 percent of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest die. 
• Unfortunately, only about 46% of people who experience an out of hospital cardiac arrest get the immediate help that they need before professional help arrives.
Bystander CPR can save lives, however it requires a willing bystander with CPR training to perform.  Providing CPR in public is different from a healthcare setting.  The conditions are uncontrollable, it could be on a hot parking lot, a freezing cold sidewalk or in the midst of a crowded room.  Then there is always the uncertainty of when additional help will arrive.  Crowds often gather, often making it even more difficult to provide care.  Thank you to the Kenosha Daily News for originally publishing this story.
It was a typical January day in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin for Gwen Gernenz and her husband as they went for a quick shopping trip to Costco.  Immediately after parking, Gernenz noticed someone on the ground at the entrance to the store.  
Rushing to help, she found a woman in her 60s, unconscious and bleeding from her face.

Gernenz asked if anyone had called 911, they had. And then, the CNA, got to work delivering the first few rounds of cardiopulmonary resuscitation.  She was quickly joined by a Costco supervisor.
“I could see some blood on the ground and it was very obvious to me something was very wrong,” said Gernenz who, along with the Costco supervisor, received a commendation for their quick action that saved the woman’s life on Jan. 16.

Gernenz said she asked for help from bystanders who turned the woman over so she could work on her. After a few rounds of CPR, the Costco supervisor connected an AED, automatic external defibrillator.  
After allowing the machine to run its analysis, an electric shock was immediately delivered and before long the woman had a pulse and was breathing.

When Pleasant Prairie paramedics arrived, the patient was conscious and speaking. She was transported to a nearby Medical Center for additional care.

This woman survived cardiac arrest because of a skilled, brave and compassionate CNA who stepped in to help another.  I hope that if I ever suffer cardiac arrest in public that there is a CNA nearby ready to jump in to save my life!

Everyone please join me in recognizing the lifesaving efforts of Gwen Gernenz, CNA Hero!


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