During midday classes on Tuesday Oct. 11, economics professor William Lord lost consciousness outside of the campus Chick-fil-A. Lord, who suffered an unspecified internal attack, was resuscitated by several emergency health services majors and their instructor.
Clinical Instructor Gary Williams explained, “I had ended class with my senior paramedic students when approximately ten minutes later three of them: Matt Gagern, CJ Kilpatrick and Sam Borchers, came running back to the department stating someone needed assistance in front of Chick-fil-A on the sidewalk.”
“They quickly grabbed our LIFEPAK 15 monitor and oxygen equipment and I left with them and headed back to the patient. Upon our arrival, senior students Jake Barnes and Ryan Cook were also there to help.”
LIFEPAK 15 monitors are a “complete acute cardiac care response system designed for basic life support and advanced life support patient management protocols,” according to the machine’s operating manual.
The piece of equipment was utilized by Williams and his students during their efforts to revive Lord.
“We were able to resuscitate the patient to allow him to be transported to the hospital with Baltimore County Fire Department officials. There were several other EHS majors and minors that showed up to offer help as needed throughout this patient encounter. I was very proud to be a part of a team with my students,” he said.
Damian Koropeckyj, a senior global studies major, described the scene as “hectic.” He added, “When I got there… there were at least 10 medical personnel… with UMBC police trying to push away the very large crowd that had gathered around the scene.”
“People stood around watching while EMS worked out of the ambulance and an EMS car next to him. About ten minutes later, they were able to move the patient onto the ambulance with an IV and CPR device strapped to his chest,” said Koropeckyj.
Senior UMBC biology major, Olivia Simonetti, was also there as the events unfolded.
“I have to admit there was something really cool about seeing six to eight undergrads immediately respond to the dropping professor,” she said. Simonetti described the EHS students as “calm and collected” and said it was “kind of a proud moment” for her and the school.
UMBC Deputy Chief of Police Paul Dillon said Lord was taken to the intensive care unit of St. Agnes Hospital, where he is recovering.
Williams had encouraging words about the capabilities of his students in emergency situations such as the one that occurred on Tuesday.
“This is what we always hope for in our profession and I am happy to see that our students hard work in the classroom and in the field is already paying off and that they are saving lives.”
