A Planet Fitness manager and part-time employee in Monument, Colo., are being honored after their quick-thinking with an AED and CPR skills saved the life of a patron who went into cardiac arrest in February.
According to KOAA, the patron was exercising on a stair climber in the cardio section of the gym when they collapsed. Club manager Cory Nigbur and part-time employee Olivia Torres were nearby and jumped into action.
"You can never have too much training, and when, unfortunately, you need to use it, the more training you have, the better the outcome is going to be," Nigbur said.
Torres told KOAA that she never thought she would have to use the AED at work, but she and Nigbur were able to assist the member until paramedics arrived.
Related: NATA, SCA Foundation Spread Awareness of Sudden Cardiac Arrest for National Heart Month
"I think everyone should know CPR. Everyone should know first aid. It's just that important because you never know when or where it's going to happen," Torres said.
After the incident, the gym is honoring Torres with the “Tiger Award” for her swift response in the emergency and showing “extra initiative in taking care of their members.”
“Monitoring your heart rate, having an idea of what feels normal to you is a great thing, especially when you're in the gym,” he said. “The rule of thumb is usually 220 minus your age is around the active heart rate that you want to be at. And if you start to feel that you're short of some breath, tightness in the chest, even numbing of the limbs, it's definitely time to flag somebody down or just kind of stop and take a breather from what you're doing.”
