Reilly Elementary staff use first aid training to revive substitute teacher

Irene Aguilar was printing out a form at Martha Turner Reilly Elementary School when she heard a substitute teacher at the school fall to the floor in the front office. The teacher was unconscious.

Aguilar, the school’s office manager, quickly called School Nurse Beata Fik and Counselor Amparo Guzman. The skills they learned in their Heartsaver First Aid/CPR/AED training kicked in. They called 911, and after using the school’s defibrillator and performing CPR, the substitute regained a pulse. Aguilar, Fik and Guzman then used CPR skills to support the teacher until the ambulance arrived.

“It was just amazing how everyone played a part to help save his life,” Guzman said.

Today the substitute teacher is walking and on his way to recovery in the hospital. Dallas ISD Health Services Director Jennifer Finley applauded the Reilly Elementary staff for their heroic actions.

“The medical staff at the admitting hospital thanked the school staff for their quick and effective response,” Finley said. “It was because of their recognition and action that the substitute teacher is up walking, talking and expected to make a full recovery.”

Dallas ISD Health Services trains about 2,200 staff, teachers and students every year in first aid and CPR. Every campus is allocated a nurse and has at least one defibrillator machine.

May 9 is National School Nurse Day, and it’s a chance to recognize the amazing work campus nurses do every day across Dallas ISD.

“We are so fortunate to have our campus nurses there to respond to emergencies, provide an extra layer of safety, and encourage our students to make healthy choices and live a healthy lifestyle,” Finley said. “Our nurses are a valuable member of every campus.”