Bluestem HS staff recognized for saving coworker’s life

LEON, Kan. (KWCH) - Staff at Bluestem High School in Leon on Wednesday received recognition for heroic efforts that saved a coworker’s life. In April, para Beth Scott was in a classroom when she went into cardiac arrest. Her coworkers performed CPR and used an AED to save her.

April 24 started out as a normal day at Bluestem High School, but things quickly changes as the school day came to an end. EMS hurried to the school in response to the emergency call, but there was no time to waste The staff at the school knew what to do to help Scott after she went into cardiac arrest.

When Bluestem USD 205 Nurse Nichole Hiedeman got to the classroom, Scott wasn’t breathing and other staff had already started CPR.

“I told them to get the AED, checked to see if there was a pulse, and then I started doing compressions,” Hiedeman said.

Emergency crews with Butler County EMS took over for Hiedeman after they arrived and after 30 minutes of being down, Scott was revived.

Scott said she has atrial fibrillation (AF), which is a type of arrhythmia, or abnormal heartbeat, commonly referred to as “AFib.” She said it needs to be regulated and “they were having trouble with it.”

Trouble that, without a team of heroes, could have been much worse.

“Brain damage without oxygen; there could have been anything,” Scott said. “But instead, I’m here walking and talking.”

For Scott, thanking her coworkers isn’t enough.

“I mean, this is my life,” she said. “I will never be able to think of them as just regular people I work with. They saved my life and that’s unbelievable.”

Butler County EMS awarded Hiedeman and two other Bluestem High School staff members with the Civilian Lifesaving Award for their actions to save Scott. Wednesday, Scott also met the 911 dispatcher who answered the emergency call on April 24 and all the emergency responders who worked to save her life.

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