The Roseau Police Department awarded eight individuals with Life Saving Awards on Monday, Jan. 5. The awards were presented for their work in saving the life of Hannah Torkelson two months earlier.
Receiving the awards were Roseau County Sgt. Logan Bender, Roseau County Sgt. Chancey Gust, Paramedic Jon Hellerup, citizen Tyler Isane, EMT Holly Koebernick, Roseau County Deputy Damian Moore, Roseau Police Department Cpl. Mitchel Norberg and EMT Jamie Omdahl. Torkelson was present for the awards ceremony.
On Wednesday, Nov. 5, Roseau Police Department Officers, Roseau County Deputies and LifeCare Emergency Medical Services were called to Border Bank in Roseau regarding a medical emergency. During his presentation of the awards, Roseau Police Chief Marc Hodge said, “Not knowing fully what was happening, our first responders responded to this call without hesitation.
“When officers and deputies arrived on scene, they were ushered to a back office where they found Hannah Torkelson not breathing and without a pulse. Officers and deputies immediately and without hesitation took over lifesaving measures from Hannah’s coworker [Isane].
“Officers and deputies let their training and experience take over and kept calm in a very chaotic moment. Their initial lifesaving measures included chest compressions, oxygen administration and the use of an AED, which provided Hannah with the crucial amount of time needed for advanced life saving measures to be brought by LifeCare Emergency Medical Services personnel.
“Once LifeCare EMS was on scene, all first responders worked together and fought tirelessly to bring life back to Hannah. Because of their hard work, Hannah’s heart began to beat again.
“I would like to thank every one of you for the work that you did that allowed Hannah, her family, and her friends to see each other again. They say that without immediate action in starting CPR, a person only has about a 12% chance of survivability. Because of all your actions in providing immediate lifesaving measures, Hannah beat those odds.”
In addition to thanking the eight award recipients, Hodge also thanked Border Bank, Life Flight, and all of the nurses, doctors and other staff at the LifeCare Emergency Department.