Officers save RPS worker’s life

IU Police Department officers armed with a defibrillator saved the life of an IU staff member early Sunday morning.

A Residential Programs and Services supervisor saw a 47-year-old RPS food services worker fall to the floor in a kitchen in Forest Quad, said IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger, reading from a police report.

Co-workers called 911 at 3:33 a.m., according to an IUPD press release.

IUPD Sgt. Shannon Ramey arrived and found the woman with an irregular heart rhythm and with trouble breathing, Minger said.

The woman had gone into fibrillation, when the heart “quivers” and fails to pump blood like it should, Minger said.

Ramey started CPR until IUPD Officer Joe Amandola arrived with an automatic external defibrillator, a machine that regulates heart rhythm.

Officers placed one electrode on her side under her arm and another on her chest so the machine could assess her heart. The machine’s voice command told officers she needed a shock to reset her heart rhythm, Minger said.

The machine sent electricity through the woman’s body and her heart started to beat normally.

“The person would have died if this had not happened,” Minger said.

Officers continued to perform CPR breathing on the woman until a Bloomington Hospital ambulance arrived.

In 2001, the IU Foundation paid to place a defibrillator in each IUPD squad car. Minger credits the defibrillator machines with saving 10 lives on campus.

Forest Quad does not have a normal dining hall, but its Greenleaf Dining Hall is used for special events. Greenleaf had no events scheduled for Saturday night.

The woman had not complained about illness or discomfort prior to the incident, Minger said.