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A Life Saved at Target
Two U-M clinicians save a life on their own time

A Life Saved at TargetNancy Woods, OT, visits the Canton Target where she and Suzanne Connell, R.N., saved a woman’s life.

Nancy Woods, an occupational hand therapist in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, was shopping at Target in Canton on her day off last November. Suddenly, someone shouted that a woman was in trouble so Woods ran to help. Suzanne Connell, R.N., a cardiac nurse on 7B/C cardiology, was also shopping at Target that day. Together, Woods and Connell resuscitated the woman, who was in cardiac arrest with no pulse.

“We kept each other calm during the incident,” Woods says. “It seemed like there was a lot of fate involved that Suzanne and I were both there at the same time.” Once paramedics arrived, it took nearly 30 minutes to stabilize the patient’s heart rate enough to transport her to an area hospital.

As it turns out, Connell’s lifesaving chest compressions brought the patient back. She was out of the hospital within a week and was so grateful to her “angels” that she invited both of them to dinner, along with their families. She gave Woods and Connell glass angels to show
her appreciation for the quick care they provided.

“It never crossed my mind to not get involved,” says Woods, who treats patients with hand issues that prevent them from performing daily tasks. The best part of her job, she says, is helping diagnose the cause of pain and helping patients get back to living.

Connell agrees that helping a person in a medical crisis becomes second nature when you work in health care. “I care for cardiac patients every day, but had never been such an active participant in saving another person,” she says. “We then found out that she did make it. I think about it every day: Wow, I saved someone’s life and I was not at work.”

A few days after the incident, Jean Shlafer, R.N., director of Ancillary Nursing and Admission
Bed Coordination, received a call from the hospital that cared for the patient. The physician called personally to praise the excellent care provided by Connell and Woods. - BJ

BE PREPARED! CONTACT THE AMERICAN RED CROSS, www.wc-redcross.org, OR THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION, www.americanheart.org, FOR CPR TRAINING.

Comment on this article

"Wow, it's so refreshing to read something positive and wonderful. Thanks for providing this article, it cheered me up and reminded me that good people do good things every day, we just don't hear about it as much. Good job ladies!!!" - Julie Doty, Tobacco Consultation Service

"How awesome-congratulations to both Suzanne and Nancy." - Lisa King, SWAT

"In a time where litigation is becoming the norm and being a good samaritan is cause for concern rather than praise I am so happy to know that there are still people in this community that care for others. I know working within the UMHS promotes a sense of concern for those around us and I'm glad that these two ladies were able to display to others not part of the UMHS family that every one can be a hero if they simply make the split second decision to help someone in a time of need." - Syma Khan, Mott Child and Family Life

"Yes, thanks you two!!! Who you saved was one of my friends from my church! Thank YOU two again! She could not stop talking about you gals :)" - Carol Case, MCIT


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