Skip to contents
In This Issue:
Ron Newman saves patients with CPR inside and outside of the hospital.
When Ron Newman, a cardiovascular X-ray tech in BWH's Cardiac Cath Lab, dropped his son off at school for a routine baseball practice, he had no idea he would be needed to help save another parent's life.
Newman was driving out of the high school's parking lot on a recent morning when he noticed a man lying on the ground and three bystanders surrounding him. He saw that one of the bystanders, who was wearing scrubs-and happened to be a cardiac nurse from Brockton Hospital-had bent over the man to assess him and begin chest compressions. Newman jumped out of the car to help.
"I identified myself as a member of the BWH Cath Lab, and I took over CPR compressions while the nurse did rescue breathing," said Newman, who has worked at BWH for nearly 15 years.
They both continued CPR while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Once paramedics got to the scene, they shocked the man multiple times, as Newman and the nurse kept performing CPR, before transferring him into the ambulance.
Newman later learned that the man had suffered a massive heart attack but made a full recovery. The BWHer's expertise allowed the man to receive treatment at a nearby hospital, with no heart muscle or brain dysfunction following the incident.
"I do CPR all of the time, but never outside of the hospital," Newman said. "Adrenaline just took over."
A week later, Newman met the man, who thanked him for saving his life so his kids wouldn't lose their father.
"To me, it reinforces why people should learn how to do CPR," Newman said. "You never know when you're going to be called upon to help save someone's life."
To learn more about CPR training, visit the BWH Emergency Cardiac Care Learning Center.