WMH Nurse Saves the Life of Emerson Employee

On June 28 Charles “Chuck” Malick, an employee at Emerson Climate Technologies in Sidney, Ohio, was taken to their on-site nursing facility to be treated for what he thought was a minor cut on his forearm. Little did he know that the cut was not the only thing that was going to be treated by on-site registered nurse, Colleen Faller of Wilson Memorial Hospital’s Occupational Health.

Malick, a Unit Assembler in the Integrated Products Division at Emerson, was escorted to the nursing clinic by his supervisor, Nick Schnippel. As Faller began to treat the cut she noticed that Malick was not responding to her questions. When she looked up she quickly realized he was not breathing. Without hesitation, Faller immediately started CPR.

“I told Nick to take over CPR while I went to grab the automated external defibrillator (AED) machine in the back room,” Faller said. “Nick did a great job until I got back with the AED. I had to shock Chuck’s heart two times before he started breathing again.”

When the rescue squad arrived on the scene, Malick was in stable condition. He was taken to Wilson Memorial Hospital and then later transported to Kettering Medical Center in Dayton where he underwent valve repair surgery followed by the insertion of a pacemaker and defibrillator.

On July 26, Emerson Climate Technologies recognized the efforts of Faller and Schnippel at a company meeting. Ed Purvis, Executive Vice President, made a special presentation and praised the staff for their quick response and treatment efforts. Malick and his wife, Becky, were in attendance for the presentation.

“They saved my life,” said Malick. “I consider myself a healthy individual. I work out and take good care of my body. I’ve never had any heart problems, so this came out of nowhere.”

When asked about her heroic efforts, Faller’s response, “I was just doing my job.” Not one to accept accolades, she quickly turned the recognition to the Emerson team for their first-aid and safety training programs, which came into play on June 28.

“Our on-site nurses teach CPR and first-aid training to all of our supervisors as well as other employees as requested,” said Keith Thomas, Corporate Manager-Global Safety and Security. “We partner with Wilson Memorial on the programs here in Sidney and it has proven to be very much a success and vital program within our organization.”

Thomas also oversees the on-site nursing clinic at Emerson. “We have had our clinic in place for almost 20 years,” said Thomas.  “It is instances like this that we really value our partnership with our local hospital. We didn’t have time to wait for the rescue squad. We needed fast action and that is what we got. A life was saved that day and Colleen and Nick are to be commended for their efforts.”

As far as Malick, he is doing well. He is home recovering from his surgery and is hoping to be back at work sometime in the near future.