Luke Hugghins was able to obtain paid emergency medical technician training through a federal COVID relief measure called the American Rescue Plan Act.
This week, a Fort Dodge man put his training to work in Washington, D.C. The procedure was written and approved and could potentially save a man’s life.
Hugghins was part of a Fort Dodge and Webster County delegation that went to the nation’s capital to talk to federal officials about various local projects. He went on to be a project manager for McClure Engineering Co. , which plays a major role in many infrastructure functions.
He also works as a volunteer EMT with the Badger Fire Department and a part-time EMT with the Fort Dodge Fire Department.
Huggins. his wife, Lexi; and Wade Greiman, President of the Transportation Business Unit at Snyder & Associates; They were returning to the Wafd Hotel on C Street in downtown Washington on Tuesday evening in an Uber when they spotted a group of people on the sidewalk near the hotel.
According to Huggins, it looked like an unconscious man was lying there, surrounded by six to eight friends.
I jumped up and said, “Hi, I’m an EMT, can I help?” He remembers.
People gathered around the unconscious man and said he tripped on the sidewalk and fell face first on the sidewalk.
Higgins quickly checked the man’s vital signs. The man’s pulse was weak and he was not breathing. He noticed that the man’s friends were holding his head in a way that might have been blocking his airway.
He repositioned the man’s head by doing what is called jaw thrusting, and lifting the chin while supporting the neck.
it worked.
“He was able to take a gasp of air,” Huggins said.
The man began to regain consciousness and took a deep breath.
Around that time, an ambulance arrived. Huggins briefed the ambulance staff on what had happened.
As the ambulance crew works, he notices that they have the same type of heart monitor that the Fort Dodge Fire Department uses. He was able to explain to the man’s friends what all the information on the displays meant. He also explained what the ambulance crew was doing to treat the man.