Two College of the Mainland employees and four student nurses were honored Tuesday, Oct.
16 with the college’s first ever Distinguished Service Award for their efforts in resuscitating and
saving a man’s life on campus. COM electrician Lorrin Ching and COM Police Lt. Jill Hamm
along with student nurses Alexis Boettcher, Rachel Cunningham, Shanee Scribner and Andrea
Strickland were recognized during a noon ceremony on campus.
Gary Glover, an electrician with Crescent Electric, who was revived after being electrocuted
on Sept. 19 gave the six recipients their awards. “On Sept. 19, all the stars were aligned and the
right people were at the right place at the right time to save my life,” Glover said. “I am forever
grateful.” Dr. Warren Nichols, College of the Mainland president, thanked the recipients for their
quick thinking and actions. Sept. 19, he said, “could have been a day of mourning or a day of
celebration. We’re happy you’re here with us to celebrate.” The COM Distinguished Service
Award has been established to recognize any student, faculty or staff whose actions and accomplishments
reach a level of receiving institutional recognition. The actions of Ching, Hamm
and the student nurses, he said, “are what the COM Distinguished Service Award is all about.”
The glass awards were inscribed with the recipients’ names and read, “for unwavering response
to perform lifesaving assistance on Sept. 19, 2018, resulting in the saving of a human
life.” Grady Mack with Crescent Electric presented each of the recipients with a certificate and
reward for their efforts or the morning of Sept. 19, Glover and Ching were working alongside
each other when Glover used a crowbar to lift a utility manhole cover and came in contact with
a live wire. Ching was able to pull Glover off the energized cover by pulling on his shirt despite
putting himself at risk of being electrocuted and then began CPR.
The four student nurses, who were on an extended
break from a class where they were learning sudden
cardiac arrest and management of abnormal heart
rhythms, happened to be in the financial aid office
nearby when they saw Glover in distress. Glover, 55,
was found with no pulse. The student nurses took
over the compressions on Glover’s chest. Strickland
called COM police on her cell phone requesting an
Automated External Defibrillator, or AED. Hamm arrived
a short time later with an AED that is kept in the
COM police vehicles. Following verbal instructions
on the AED, pads were applied to Glover’s chest to
help get his heart into rhythm. The nursing students
continued with heart compressions after the AED was
used and Glover eventually
responded.
Glover was taken to
the University of Texas
Medical Branch and
was able to return to
work on the College
of the Mainland campus
five days later. The
four student nurses are
all expected to graduate
in December with
an associate degree in
nursing.
