It wasn’t a typical Monday for staff at RME Yorkton, although the day started out as any other day. That is, until a woman and her sister visited the branch and things took a turn.

“I was walking down the stairs when Cheryl, our Branch Administrator, paged that medical assistance was required immediately–it was thought that someone was having a heart attack out front of the building,” said Regional Aftermarket Sales Manager, Joel Hoehn.

Without thinking, Joel and three others—Sheldon Hubred, Andrew Moore and Jeff Sherwin—leapt into action, grabbing the branch defibrillator and heading outside.

“She was in the car so we removed her, laid her on the ground, and put the defibrillator on her. Once we had it on her, we started CPR and used the machine a couple of times to get a heartbeat.”

They continued with CPR until the ambulance showed up and the paramedics took over. According to Hoehn, it took approximately 10 minutes for the paramedics to arrive due to the branch being outside of town. Once on scene, the paramedics commended Hoehn and team for taking care of the woman and credit their swift actions for saving her life.

Hoehn took a First Aid course a few years back and never expected to need it for an event like this, but he is no stranger to life-saving experiences.

“I worked for a volunteer fire department and we pulled a lady out of a burning house who needed CPR. You never know what you’re going to use it for, I guess.”

The woman who suffered a heart attack has since been transferred to a hospital in Winnipeg for triple bypass surgery and is in recovery. Her sister has since visited the branch to extend her thanks to the RME team and provide a health update.

“I was very impressed with our [staff] because once everything started rolling, they just started doing what they were supposed to do—keeping calm, holding medical supplies and helping however they could. It’s the initial shock that stumbles you up a little bit but after that, the response was overall very coordinated and professional,” Hoehn  said.

Not only does he recommend everyone educate themselves by taking a First Aid course, Hoehn also mentioned how important it is to know how to use a defibrillator before an emergency.