ATSU PA students save a life during beach vacation
Posted: April 19, 2019
A day at the beach took an unexpected turn for a group of physician assistant studies students from A.T. Still University’s Arizona School of Health Sciences (ATSU-ASHS). Shortly after Mikayla Freeman, PA, ’19; Anna Bogdanov, PA, ’19; Heather Hargrave, PA, ’19; Alyssa Martinez, PA, ’19; and Will Koopal, PA, ’19 arrived at Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, a woman collapsed nearby. She began seizing and lost her pulse.
The students sprang into action. Two of them administered chest compressions, one monitored her pulse, another called 911, and another spoke with the woman’s friends to determine her medical history. By the time first responders arrived, the woman’s pulse had returned.
“I was so proud of my friends,” says Freeman. “We were able to jump into this critical situation and help. That’s what we’re going to school for. We want to help people.”
The ATSU community is very proud of these students for drawing on their medical training to save a life.
“I am so impressed with their quick actions in assisting the woman who was in trouble,” says Albert Simon, DHSc, professor and chair of Physician Assistant Studies at ATSU-ASHS. “They all deserve great adulation. It is so good to know that when things go bad, our students know the right things to do and take the appropriate action.”
Check out this azcentral story for more information.