An Oakland County custodian is alive today thanks to the quick action of three fellow employees and their county-sponsored automated external defibrillator (AED) and cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training.
Skilled maintenance mechanic Tim Hoskins along with building safety attendants Tom Pecheniuk and Tony Sullivan discovered 47-year-old custodian Ken Cummings unconscious and not breathing last week during their after-hours shift at the Oakland County Circuit Court building. When Sullivan and Pecheniuk felt no pulse, they began CPR as Hoskins leapt to get the AED.
Pecheniuk, an Orion Township resident, administered respirations to Cummings while Sullivan, a Pontiac resident, attached the AED electrodes. The AED detected that Cummings needed an electric charge. Pecheniuk pressed the button to administer the charge which helped to get Cummings' heart going again. Meanwhile, building safety dispatchers had called for an ambulance which transported Cummings to a nearby hospital. All of this took place in less than 10 minutes.
"The heroic actions of these county employees saved the life of their co-worker," Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. "They are examples for all of us and I am not only grateful Mr. Cummings will be fine, but also that our staff could rely on their AED/CPR training. It underscores the importance of making this kind of training available to employees."
Cummings' mother, Janet, said that her son would not be here today if it were not for the AED training.
"We were told by the doctor that if the AED hadn't been available, he would not have survived," she said in an email to Cummings' supervisors.
Cummings, a Clarkston resident, continues to recover.
Oakland County has offered AED/CPR training to employees since 1995. To date, about 1,900 county employees have taken the training. Select Medical Inc. provides AED/CPR training to county staff. The company also oversees preventative maintenance for all Oakland County AEDs.
Published: Wed, Sep 14, 2016
