Our congratulations to the 2020 Governor’s Lifesaving Award recipients. The Awards were presented virtually this year as part of the Conference.
Tim Weinzirl and Michael Tratnick
Taylor Shellfish
Tim and Michael were patrolling the beaches in Case Inlet, with Tim on shore and Michael in a boat, on April 10, 2020. As Tim walked on the beach, he saw an older gentleman frantically calling for help. His sister was in the water and not breathing. Tim dragged her head and shoulders out of the water to start administering first aid. He called emergency services and Michael, who raced back in the boat. Together, they pulled the woman away from the water and performed CPR until she bean breathing on her own. Doctors think she may have had a heart attack or stroke. As her brother wrote in a letter to their employer, Tim and Michael are heroes.
Tim Determan and Trevor Swanson
Washington State Department of Health
Tim and Trevor were in a boat collecting marine water samples in the Oakland Bay Shellfish Growing Area on May 26, 2020, when they spotted what looked like a log and something attached to it floating in the water.
It turned out to be two kayakers clinging to their kayak. Tim and Trevor pulled the slightly hypothermic kayakers aboard their vessel, and warmed them up in the boat’s cabin. It turned out the pair had been floating
in 56-degree water in the widest part of the bay, without personal flotation devices, for 3 ½ hours. They survived thanks to their rescue by Tim and Trevor.
Bill McCann and Steve Bair
MultiCare Health System in Auburn, facilities management team.
Bill and a co-worker were preparing for a meeting on Sept. 19, 2019, when the co-worker began feeling dizzy and confused, and his eyes rapidly shifted back and forth. Steve ran in to offer help, and he and Bill realized their colleague was showing symptoms of a stroke.
They helped him down the stairs, drove him to the emergency department and seated him in a wheelchair – all within 10 minutes of recognizing the signs of a stroke. Their co-worker received the immediate medical care that is crucial to limiting long-term damage, due to the knowledge and quick action of Bill and Steve
Bryan Packer and James Edenfield
The Boeing Company’s Auburn plant, Aviation Technical Services weld shop.
James and Bryan flew into action when their manager was having a stroke in Oct. 7, 2019. James first noticed the manager was having trouble turning on the lights that day, and that the left side of his face drooped when he drank water. James yelled for help, prompting Bryan to call Boeing’s emergency line.
Members of the second-shift weld shop team stood at the shop doors to direct Boeing emergency personnel, who arrived within four minutes.
Sadly, after a hospital stay and time at home, the manager died in January. James’ and Bryan’s quick response and recognition of stroke symptoms helped their co-worker spend one last holiday season with his family
Jay Allan
Cascade Training in Tacoma, client support specialist and basic life-support instructor
Jay was on duty on Oct. 24, 2019, when he was alerted that someone in the parking lot of an adjacent business was in cardiac arrest.
The person wasn’t breathing and had no pulse when Jay began performing CPR and ventilation. Emergency responders later arrived, and witnessed the “return of spontaneous circulation” in
the patient — in other words, a heartbeat, breath, and signs of life, thanks to Jay.
