Vincent Hayes, a 20-year-old Vacaville volunteer firefighter, with his CEPA
20-year-old Vincent Hayes, a Vacaville volunteer firefighter, was presented with the Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action (CEPA) by the American Red Cross on November 18 for his heroic actions of saving a man’s life while at “The Happiest Place on Earth” in early August of this year.
As Vincent and his girlfriend boarded the Disneyland Railroad 30 minutes before midnight, there was a commotion that caught his attention. Another couple adjacent to the ride was laying a man down on the floor after asking if “he was ok”.
Vincent instantly took action, hopped off the slow-moving train and ran towards the couple and the man who wasn’t ok. Once on the ground, he assessed the situation and checked for the man’s pulse. He was apneic, not breathing while unconscious, and pulseless.
(Back Row, L to R) Berkeley Rahn, Paula Luzardo, Natalie Malas and Eloise Green. (Front Row L to R) Trey Roost, Piper Hanson, Simone Gendreau and Molly Foster hold mannequin babies during Red Cross Babysitter’s Training course at Marinwood Community Center in San Rafael, Calif.
On a recent rainy day, a dozen young students aged 10 to 13 gathered at the Marinwood Community Center in San Rafael. The three boys and nine girls were there to learn some critical skills and earn an American Red Cross Certificate through the newly updated Babysitter’s Training course. Instructor Robyn Bruton began by asking the students, “What experience do you have with babysitting?” Hands shot into the air.
One girl offered “I have a lot of little cousins I hang out with.”
“I once held a baby!” called out one boy.
Bruton says there are “no wrong answers” to that question and that in this one-day class, students would gain the skills and confidence they needed to become successful babysitters. “Parents are always looking for babysitters, and they want someone they trust. I think this just adds an additional layer that they know their babysitter had a good foundation of training.”
This year, the Red Cross debuted a revamped Babysitter’s Training course, modernized for a new generation of young people. “The class definitely needed to be modernized,” remarks Bruton.
On September 27, 2024, Richard Castellon, then an off-duty police officer with the Monterey Police Department, was walking through the hallway of his Virginia apartment complex when he noticed an unconscious man lying in the gym. Without hesitation, Richard rushed to help. He quickly checked on the man, found him unresponsive and immediately called 911. While requesting an AED from the apartment staff, he began performing CPR.
Jen Bottalico, Manager at Alex. Brown San Francisco, practices chest compressions. Photo by Marcia Antipa / American Red Cross
One recent afternoon high up inside a San Francisco skyscraper, the sounds of “Are you alright?” and “Clear!” rang out. Red Cross CPR manikins lay between the office desks, with a dozen office workers kneeling beside them practicing chest compressions. These employees of Alex.Brown, a division of Raymond James*, were learning the basics of lifesaving first aid measures.
Officer Manager Jennifer Bottalico and Branch Administrative Manager Cheryl Fox arranged the training through the local Red Cross office. “We decided we wanted to try to do everything we could to kind of protect our employees because we view them as family. So, for us, it’s just that we wanted to be able to go back to them and say if we ever had an incident that we did everything that we absolutely could,” they said.
Cheryl Fox said she and Bottalico were inspired to take steps after a colleague in another office suffered a medical emergency. The frightening on-field cardiac arrest of Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin also drove home the need to be prepared.
“It was scary, because I don’t think you ever think somebody of his age, that that’s going to happen to somebody that’s 20-something years old. Very scary,” she said.
Instructor Thom Volz of VCT services, a strategic partner with the Red Cross, started the class with a pep talk.
“Know where the first aid kits are in the places we travel to regularly, so we can get this response going, know where the AED kits are,” he said. Volz also told the class it can typically take ten minutes for first responders to arrive, so it’s important to be prepared with the equipment and skills needed to save a life.
Volz divided the class into teams of three people, who practiced CPR on the manikins. “We’re trying to build habits right now,” Volz told the class, “So arms locked out, lean over the person to give compressions; one cycle of CPR for adults.”
The team of Alex.Brown in San Francisco practicing CPR and AED use. Photo by Marcia Antipa / American Red Cross
Then the teams learned to use an AED, or automated external defibrillator, a device that analyzes the victim’s heart rhythm, and, if needed, delivers a shock to restore the normal heartbeat.
Office Manager Bottalico says after she took a Red Cross training class, she received approval from their head office to buy an AED for the San Francisco branch.
“If somebody’s not breathing it’s a matter of seconds, so I think the investment into an AED for the office – hopefully we never have to use it – the investment is worth it. We worked with our counterparts at Raymond James …and they didn’t hesitate.”
The teams also learned how to save the life of a person who is choking. Office members Renee Sessa and Samantha Hsu teamed up to practice chest thrusts. For Sessa, a frightening incident that almost took a friend’s life convinced her to take this class.
“He was 60 and he went into cardiac arrest and luckily there was somebody that was trained and was able to immediately administer CPR to him and saved his life.”
Renee says she wants to be able to do the same for a family member or co-worker. “I hope to be able to…save someone’s life or help save someone’s life in the event of an emergency.”
Office Manager Bottalico says the class was a success. “We can always tell by the level of questions that are asked by the team how much they are paying attention,” she says, laughing. “They all were engaged today so I think everyone realizes the value of it. People realize that sometimes it’s going to be up to them.”
*Raymond James & Associates, Inc., member New York Stock Exchange/SIPC *Raymond James & Associates, Inc., is not affiliated with any of the above outside organizations.
The U.S. Air Force hosted their annual Wings Over Solano Air Show at Travis Air Force Base on May 14 and 15. The show was open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both days and featured a wide range of aircraft from the Pitts Special S13, right on through to state-of-the-art aircraft such has the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber and the F-35 Lighting multirole combat aircraft.
Red Cross volunteers converged on Travis from all of the Northern California Coast Region Chapters – Silicon Valley, Bay Area, Central Coast, Heart of the Valley and North Bay. Under the leadership of Liz Dietz and Marilyn Byington, volunteers offered training, minor first aid supplies such as band aids, water and ear plugs. They also informed show goers about the Red Cross mission and spoke to service members about services the Red Cross offers to them and their families.
Volunteer Stuart Chessen managed logistics for the effort. More than a dozen additional Red Cross volunteers supported the event, and volunteer Salma Samar took great photos and videos.
Mary Ann “Stormy” Reilly and Stuart Chessen taught hands-only CPR, which is a relatively new technique introduced to help save lives through CPR where people are reluctant to give rescue breaths, especially in the COVID-19 era. On these two wonderfully warm days, there were kids aged 7-14 years old and some older adults who stopped by to observe, practice and learn about ‘Hands Only CPR’ and what to do if someone is choking on something. These people got down on their knees to practice, and worked hard to do what they needed, to help save someone’s life.
Photo by Samar Salma/American Red Cross
Peg Geringer taught ‘Stop the Bleed.’ If you are involved in an incident where there is a severe, bleeding wound, the first thing to do is to call ‘911’. After that, Peg explained that you use direct pressure to stop the bleeding by putting your two hands over the wound and pressing down hard with your upper body. If you have a roller gauze, take the end of it and start stuffing the injury with as much gauze as you can. Tie off the roll over the wound and if you have a tourniquet handy, apply it 2-3 inches above or below the wound, but NOT over a joint. Turn the stick or windlass as tight as you can to stop the bleeding. Tourniquets are used as a LAST resort to stop the bleeding. Cover them to prevent shock. You may put a large ‘T’ on their forehead with a Sharpie, so the medics know the person has a tourniquet on their body.
Together these two seasoned volunteers trained about 60 people during the weekend event.
The Red Cross presence at Wings over Solano was another example of Red Cross Service to the Armed Forces support. The Red Cross provides the military services with emergency communications services, support to Military Hospitals and Veterans Affairs (VA) Health Facilities as well as by building strong families and resilient communities.
There was that one time Ian Wigley gave CPR to a gentleman at a card game, and then there were those other times — at a wedding, a family gathering, and a restaurant — that he helped people who were choking. It’s fair to say that Ian, an Instructor Trainer with the American Red Cross, has a great track record for saving lives.
American Red Cross Instructor Ian Wigley
Ian teaches frequent first aid classes and says the training is important because, “You CAN help somebody. It will give you the skills and confidence to help until the Emergency Medical Service arrives.”
Ian’s classes include adult and child CPR, choking, how to stop life-threatening bleeding and how to use a defibrillator.
In addition to the people Ian has helped directly, there are also his students who go on to save the lives of others.
One especially rewarding experience was when a student he had previously taught rushed to tell him how they had been able to assist a coworker who went into cardiac arrest. That man recovered and eventually went back to work.
“I was kind of emotional,” Ian said. “I was excited they were able to help somebody. They had managed to keep calm and do what needed to be done.”
Class participants Andreina Pardo (left) and Gabrielle Valdez (right)
Gabrielle Valdez and Andreina Pardo attended a recent class taught by Ian. They were on a quest to get certified in first aid for their new jobs in child care.
“Before the class I felt nervous,” Gabrielle said. “Now I feel much more confident.”
They learned how to perform CPR, treat choking, and stop life-threatening bleeding. The Red Cross course they opted for was conducted partly online and partly in person.
“It’s important because you can save someone’s life,” Andreina said. “It’s to be better prepared.”
If you want to feel more confident that you can handle a first aid emergency, you can sign up for Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED skills courses at www.redcross.org.
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