In December of 2018, Simon Poirier was working at Collège La Cité, in Ottawa. It was late when a panicked call came over the radio requiring security to be dispatched to a different building at the college. Hearing the panic in his colleague’s voice, Simon immediately ran to the location to assist. He found his colleague with a young female student who appeared to be convulsing.
Simon immediately assumed charge of the scene and requested bystanders to clear the area. He then assessed the patient and was unable to locate a pulse. He immediately radioed his supervisor to call for EMS and began artificial resuscitation. Simon recognized there was no blockage to the airway and so once again checked for pulse. A student at the college, Christopher Tremblay, approached and advised Simon that he knew CPR. Simon immediately asked that he start compressions. Simon continued to breathe and monitor for a pulse.
After several minutes of CPR, a pulse was detected and the young woman began breathing but once again started to convulse and her breathing and pulse stopped. Simon and Christopher resumed CPR until paramedics arrived, at which point the young woman regained consciousness and a transfer of care took place.
Simon’s supervisor was aware of the incident and after reviewing the video for debriefing purposes, noted that Simon’s leadership with securing the scene, minimizing crowd distraction and his subsequent assessment and treatment of the young woman resulted in a positive outcome. Medical professionals noted the patient would not be alive today if not for the efforts of Simon and Christopher.
In recognition of their efforts at the 2019 Altitude conference held in Toronto, the CSP was pleased to present both Simon Poirier and Christopher Tremblay with the John D. Harper Lifesaving Award.
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