CHICAGO — Two Metra Police officers were honored with saving the life of a passenger last month at the board of directors' monthly meeting Wednesday.
According to Metra officials, on Nov. 17 at the LaSalle Street Station, Metra Police Officer Douglas Weincek saw a man collapse on the station floor. Weincek, joined by fellow Officer Joseph Cusentino, immediately began administering CPR. The officers also deployed an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) but the man remained unresponsive.
Cusentino and Weincek continued to perform CPR until the Chicago Fire Department arrived to take the man to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. A fire department lieutenant and hospital officials later contacted Metra police to say the officers' actions had saved the man's life, according to a Metra news release.
“We couldn’t be more proud of the actions of these two officers,” said Metra Executive Director/CEO Don Orseno. All Metra police officers are trained and certified in CPR and the use of AEDs, according to Metra.
Dr. Clyde Yancy, chief of cardiology at Northwestern Memorial added, “With this incident, we once again are reminded that anyone can save a life. ... Early use of an automatic external defibrillator and CPR made all the difference."
In 2012, Metra and Northwestern Medicine teamed up to install 425 AEDs on trains and at locations throughout Metra’s system. Since 2012, the AEDs have been deployed 10 times for cardiac events, the news release said.
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