By Kim McDarison
Three members of the Fort Atkinson Police Department were recognized Tuesday for lifesaving actions taken in December of last year.
Fort Atkinson Police Chief Adrian Bump, addressing council Tuesday, shared the events of Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, when two officers — Amelia Adsit and Brett Dunkleberger — and a dispatcher, Hannah Kleven, came together as a team to save the life of an individual whose wife had called 911.
Recounting the day’s events, Bump said the 911 caller told Kleven that her husband had fallen, and, Bump stated, “it was determined that he was not breathing.”
Kleven immediately paged for an ambulance to go to the scene and then returned to the caller and instructed her so she could give CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) to the distressed individual, Bump noted.
Bump said Kleven performed what police department personnel call “telecommunicator CPR” or “TCPR.” The goal is to lead the caller through the steps of CPR to help a patient until help from EMS arrives.
Of Kleven, he said: “She was able to do that without hesitation while handling multiple other things that were going on in the dispatch center: communicating with the ambulance responding to the scene, with two officers also responding to the scene, and also Fort (Atkinson) Fire and Rescue.”
Bump asked those present during the Fort Atkinson City Council meeting to imagine juggling all of the varying responsibilities while talking with a person in stress on the phone.
“Also, did I mention the phone was ringing because other people needed police assistance as well at the same time?” he asked.
He noted that Kleven was handling a lot all at once, and, he said, “she was able to manage all of this seamlessly and express no stress whatsoever in her voice or her actions. She immediately began to guide the caller through CPR while officers and ambulance responded and was able to do two cycles of CPR before the first officer arrived on scene.”
Dunkleberger was the next member of the Fort Atkinson Police Department team to arrive, Bump said, adding that as the first officer on the scene, he entered the home and found a male laying on his back in the living room.
“The male’s face was purple,” Bump said, adding that Dunkleberger checked for a pulse and could not find one.
He immediately started chest compressions, Bump said, and then help arrived when Adsit entered the home with an AED (Automated External Defibrillator).
Describing the teamwork involved as one officer continued CPR and the other set up the AED, Bump said his officers never lost a beat.
The officers administered a shock through use of the AED and continued with chest compressions until Dunkleberger believed he saw color returning to the patient’s face. He also said, according to Bump, that he could feel a pulse after the shock was delivered.
Bump stated: “a few moments after that, the AED started to analyze and started acknowledging that there was a pulse. Then the ambulance and Fort Fire and Rescue arrived on scene and took over.”
Bump told council members that the three members of the Fort Atkinson Police Department offered an example of “good teamwork between two officers and a dispatcher that really made a positive impact.
“It’s nice to know that the person that the officers helped made a full recovery and is doing well today,” he added.
Bump said that the department’s Life Saving Award recipients are nominated by members of the department.
“It’s not just me that decides I want to give somebody an award,” he said, adding: “These awards are written, approved and awarded by the agency and all the members of the agency. So you know that they (recipients) are worthy of it.”
He noted that Capt. Chad Lange, now retired, was the individual who nominated the three lifesavers for the award.
In doing so, Bump said, Lange wrote: “Seeing dispatcher Kleven take this call was absolutely amazing. With multiple things going on, sending out pages, answering radio traffic, phones ringing, etc., she was able to remain calm and provide lifesaving CPR instructions to the caller. I feel her actions, along with the action taken by officer dundleberger and officer Adsit on scene, played a huge role in the patient making it through this medical incident.”
During the presentation of the awards, Bump noted that it was Dunkleberger’s second time to receive recognition for performing lifesaving actions.
Fort Atkinson Police Department Officer Amelia Adsit, from left, Officer Brett Dunkleberger and dispatcher Hannah Kleven display certificates and medals awarded to them by the department Tuesday for lifesaving teamwork performed last December.
Fort Atkinson Police Department Officer Amelia Adsit, from left, is awarded a certificate and medal by Fort Atkinson Police Chief Adrian Bump, with help from Fort Atkinson City Council President Chris Scherer.
Fort Atkinson Police Department Officer Brett Dunkleberger, from left, is awarded a certificate and medal by Fort Atkinson Police Chief Adrian Bump, with help from Fort Atkinson City Council President Chris Scherer. Additionally, Bump points out that Dunkleberger has received recognition for lifesaving actions before, as noted by a symbol of the accolade on his uniform. A two-star symbol will replace the former one-star recognition.
Fort Atkinson Police Department dispatcher Hannah Kleven, from left, is awarded a certificate and medal by Fort Atkinson Police Chief Adrian Bump, with help from Fort Atkinson City Council President Chris Scherer.
Contributed photos.
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