NBU NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 23, 2005
Contact: Gretchen Reuwer, NBU Communications Manager, (830) 629-8486

NBU employee uses CPR skills to assist local resident

NEW BRAUNFELS—For the second time in as many months, a New Braunfels Utilities employee has put his CPR skills into practice in an effort to assist someone. In March, Kenneth Ryals of the NBU Water Distribution & Collection Division, was able to successfully perform CPR on a relative who had collapsed at home and was unresponsive. Then on Tuesday, May 17, Jesse Rosales and Dustin Wilkins, who are also employees of the Water Distribution & Collection Division, stopped to assist an elderly man who had been found unconscious near the side of the road by a neighbor. While Wilkins radioed into to NBU Dispatch to request emergency help, Rosales and the neighbor began resuscitation efforts on the unconscious man and continued to do so until emergency personnel arrived. Fortunately, their efforts were successful and the gentleman is recovering in the hospital.

NBU has a program in place through the American Red Cross to teach its employees Standard First Aid. The purpose of the course is to give individuals in the workplace the knowledge and skills necessary to recognize and provide basic care for injuries and sudden illnesses until advanced medical personnel arrive and take over. Presently NBU has about 75% of its employees certified in Standard First Aid. That means 144 out of 193 are certified and have received Adult CPR certificates that are renewed every year, and First Aid Basics certificates that are renewed every three years. These recent experiences underscore the reason why so much emphasis is placed on having this training available to all NBU employees.