BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
HILLSDALE, N.J.—Pascack Press commends Pascack Valley High School teacher Julianne Downes, who herself says anyone could have done what she did—save the life of a choking victim.
Downes, who teaches family and consumer sciences at Pascack Valley High School in Hillsdale, was leading students through the preparation of chicken dishes Wednesday, March 13 when she recognized a student in distress.
She said the student is known for occasionally acting silly. But this wasn’t one of those times.
“I saw that [the student] was having trouble breathing and couldn’t speak. I just put his head into the corner…and started doing the Heimlich [maneuver] right over the garbage,” Downes told CBS2’s Tara Jakeway.
After nearly 20 abdominal thrusts she dislodged the wayward bite of chicken from the student’s airway.
The school nurse, administration, and school special police officers (SLEO III) also responded to the scene. Fortunately, the student required no further medical treatment.
“As a mom, as an educator, as a human, it’s our job to just do the right thing. So I didn’t really think anything of it,” Downes told Jakeway.
On social media, Downes says, “Education and creativity through food, fashion, home, and health is what I live for.”
She started teaching family and consumer sciences in the district in September 2015. Before that she taught the subject at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale and was a paraprofessional and substitute teacher at the Westwood Regional School District.
The fifth-period episode was more than a win for the student and his family and friends; it was a resounding success for the district’s mandatory CPR training, which applies to every staff member and student.
The Pascack Valley Regional High School District was the first district in the state to certify all faculty, staff, and students in CPR every year, starting in 2015. It exceeds the state requirements of Janet’s Law, which requires each school in the state have a defibrillator and a few staffers trained in CPR.
The training is administered by the physical education teachers, who are trained in its instruction through the American Heart Association—they train the rest of the staff and students every two years, for a possible lifesaving force of 2,300 people.
The policy was put into place after a student collapsed at track practice and a teammate, who was an EMT, saved his life.
According to Paul Zeller, director of Technology and Communication for the district, speaking to CBS, “We feel that teaching kids how to be CPR certified and AED certified is a life skill, no different than riding a bike or swimming. It’s something you should know how to do.”
Downes told Jakeway anyone at the school could have done what she did.
“It’s impressive and powerful that we have all these people that can jump into action in any moment,” she said.
Superintendent of Schools P. Erik Gundersen praised Downes for remaining calm, remembering her training, and saving this student’s life.
School principal Tom DeMaio lauded Downes for keeping calm and responding quickly.
Abdominal thrusting is a first aid procedure used to treat upper airway obstructions by foreign objects. The term Heimlich maneuver is named after Dr. Henry Heimlich, who first described it in 1974.