Paramedic, CPR Instructor Receive Awards for Service in Calif.
Dec. 10--MANTECA -- Two employees of Manteca District Ambulance are among 34 recipients of 2016 California Emergency Medical Services Awards citing acts of heroism and extraordinary contributions.
District manager Jonathan Mendoza is being recognized for his efforts since 2013 to train more than 7,000 high school freshmen in hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation that have resulted in two field saves. Paramedic supervisor Richard Gonzales, while off-duty, saved the life of a person trapped in a vehicle just before it burst into flames.
Mendoza will receive the Community Service Award, and Gonzales will be receiving the Livesaving Medal from the California Emergency Medical Services Authority during its annual awards ceremony Wednesday in San Francisco.
The awards were established in 2007 to honor and recognize exceptional acts and service while working as EMS certified or licensed personnel, administrators, educators, volunteers or civilians within the EMS system.
Dr. Howard Backer, director of the state EMS agency, said in announcing the awards: "These men and women epitomize the spirit and commitment to quality that embody these awards and deserve official recognition for their contributions in making California's EMS system one of the best in the world."
The announcement noted Mendoza's "sustained, dedicated efforts that ultimately led to the establishment of a hands-only CPR program for all ninth-grade students" in the Manteca Unified School District. The program also features refresher training for 11th- and 12th-grade students as well as opportunities for them to obtain certification in CPR and automated external defibrillator use.
Mendoza said he constantly stresses with students the importance of every minute following a cardiac incident.
"For every minute that goes by, your chance of survival decreases by 10 percent. You can substantially increase the survivability of cardiac arrest if somebody can provide CPR" before medics arrive, he said.
"If we don't train people in the community to know CPR, then there is no benefit," Mendoza said.
The high school program came about after he researched communities that had the highest return of spontaneous circulation following a cardiac incident and learned that the survival rate in those communities was more than 50 percent while the national rate hovered around 11 percent. The evidence showed that a significantly higher number of people in those communities -- specifically Seattle and Las Vegas -- had CPR training.
The Manteca Unified training involves a 75-minute presentation given 10 times a year at various district high schools, reaching between 1,500 and 2,000 students. Mendoza noted that he could not possibly have done it alone, calling the project "truly a team effort in which everyone plays an important role."
Gonzales is being recognized for a specific incident that occurred as he was off duty and driving home along a rural portion of Highway 120 in San Joaquin County. After noticing a small brush fire and pulling over to investigate, he discovered the fire was caused by a car that had veered off the road, taken out a power pole and come to rest partially engulfed in flames on the backside of an embankment.
Hearing screams from inside, Gonzales made his way to the car, cautiously avoiding the live downed power lines. As he opened the driver-side door, the dashboard burst into flames. Gonzales extricated the driver and carried him away from the car just before it became fully engulfed in flames.
He continued to provide patient care until emergency medical personnel arrived.
"It was the consensus of the responding personnel that the victim would not have survived had it not been for Gonzales' quick thinking and bravery," according to the statement announcing the award.
Attempts to reach Gonzales for comment were unsuccessful.
- Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/goldeenblog and on Twitter @JoeGoldeen.
Copyright 2016 - The Record, Stockton, Calif.
