Bensalem PA June 19 2019

Kong Lo, Michael Maranuk Jr. and Tyheem Nealy are the recipients of the American Red Cross First Responder Award, which will be presented at the 2019 Bucks County Heroes Breakfast on June 21 at Parx Casino in Bensalem. The men helped revive a guest who suffered a seizure.

Many of the tasks performed by the security team at Parx Casino in Bensalem come with the territory.

One moment may find officers guarding carts of chips as they’re pushed along the plush, carpeted gaming floor between table games. Minutes later, they could be dispatched to remove a rowdy patron who may have had one too many cocktails.

But few realize there is a whole other side of the job — as evidenced by the CPR training courses each officer is required to complete.

Make no mistake, the certifications are not resume padding.

Security officers called upon that training on New Year’s Day, when they rushed into action and saved the life of a man who suffered a seizure inside the casino.

It was shortly after 8 a.m. when the man collapsed, crumpling facedown onto the floor.

Lo, 28, was nearby, escorting a cart containing cards and dice. He was first at the scene.

It was his first time responding to a 1019 — the team’s radio code for a medical incident.

“They started calling for me, but I couldn’t see what was going on because he was behind the slot machines,” Lo recalled during a recent interview. “It was like a rush of adrenaline. I rushed over and started moving stuff to clear the area.”

Lo called for backup and was quickly joined by Maranuk and Nealy.

Maranuk, who serves as instructor of the casino’s CPR courses, said he turned the victim on his side to see he was not breathing. The man’s face began to turn purple.

Mananuk began performing chest compressions, and Nealy arrived with the automated external defibrillator.

They were unsure if the man had suffered a heart attack and needed to be shocked by the device to be revived. The machine’s monitor advised them to put away the paddles.

That came as a relief, admitted Nealy, who was prepared to use the AED for the first time in a real situation outside of the classes taught by the man working by his side.

But if he was told to administer the shock, he was ready.

“I can honestly say that when it comes to the training, Parx is great,” Nealy said. “It’s so hands-on. Maranuk, when he trained me, I felt confident that he knew what he was doing and I knew what he was telling me was correct.”

Maranuk continued manually pumping on the man’s chest. The process can be exhausting, and Maranuk said he was preparing Lo to take over when the man suddenly regained consciousness.

“As far as this response goes, everyone did a great job,” Maranuk said. “High marks all around.”

The victim was transported to Jefferson-Torresdale Hospital by a crew from the Bensalem EMS and has since made a full recovery.

“I told my wife the other day that this job makes me want to go back to school to become a doctor,” Maranuk said. “I just really feel good being able to do these kinds of things.”

The security officers, all Philadelphia residents, said they were flattered to be considered heroes by the Red Cross and their boss, Parx’s director of security Jerry Fretz, who nominated them for the award.

But they aren’t in it for the recognition.

“It feels good to be appreciated, though,” Lo said. “I never expected anything like this would happen. The security team gets a bad rap sometimes. We’re just here to deal with problems.”

On this day, you could say they went above and beyond.

the intell

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