Roadside Rescue: Nurse Saves Man’s Life

Nurses at BWH are prepared to respond to changes in patients’ conditions at any time. Melissa Seubert, BSN, RN, showed how even an afternoon of shopping can turn into a life-saving experience.

Seubert, a Tower 15A nurse, resuscitated a New Hampshire man in cardiac arrest on the side of a Hudson, N.H., road. Seubert’s clear thinking and quick response—skills she and her BWH nurse colleagues practice routinely in their work—were instrumental in saving the man’s life.

Seubert and her mom were driving through Hudson when they saw the man and two passengers in his pick-up truck shaking him and desperately searching for signs of life.

“When I looked over and saw a man hunched over the steering wheel, I knew he needed immediate help,” she said.

After calling 911, Seubert screamed for help from another woman in her car approaching the intersection. “I had no clue who this woman was, but I knew I could use the help,” Seubert said. “I couldn’t believe it when I found out she was a nurse, too.”

The two nurses began to care for the unconscious man who was not breathing and had no pulse. After several rounds of unsuccessful CPR, Hudson police arrived at the scene with an automated external defibrillator (AED). Seubert tried to shock the man back into consciousness using the AED, but he remained unresponsive. The nurses continued chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing, and after four additional rounds of CPR, the man began releasing sporadic breaths of air. Five minutes later when the EMT crew arrived, he had regained a pulse and was breathing more normally.

“I couldn’t believe this man was suddenly breathing on his own again,” Seubert said. “He was even trying to talk and make sense of what had just happened when the EMTs began lifting him into the ambulance.”

The man was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Nashua, N.H., and released one day later.

“As scared as I was in the moment, I’m really glad I went through this,” Seubert said. “Just knowing I can pull through in this type of an emergency situation gives me more confidence in what I do daily at BWH.”

Jan McGrath, BSN, RN, nurse manager of 15A, said, “Melissa’s enthusiasm, dedication and competence are evident in her care of patients at BWH. This situation shows the same characteristics she exhibits in her daily life.”

“Surely Melissa Seubert’s response is a direct result of her training and dedication to her profession,” Hudson Police Chief Richard Gendron wrote in a letter to Mairead Hickey, PhD, RN, chief nursing officer and senior vice president of Patient Care Services. “I’m sure you know you are very fortunate to have Ms. Seubert on your staff.”