Elizabeth Eichelberger Elementary School nurse Mena Powell was “in the right place at the right time,” Elizabeth Eichelberger Elementary School principal Trevor Harris said.
Powell was filling in on nursing needs next to the elementary school at John F. Kennedy Middle School.
On this day, a JFK middle school student was eating with friends when they noticed the student was choking in the lunchroom.
The friends alerted the staff in the lunchroom.
Staff immediately called Powell to the cafeteria.
“The student was alert but hunched over their tray,” Powell said.
“I was able to go behind the student and perform the Heimlich with three-to-four thrusts.”
The student expelled small bites of cheese pizza onto the tray, she added.
Once the student was able to catch their breath, Powell said she asked if they were able to walk to the nurse’s office.
The student was then escorted back to the nurse’s office and given water, and parents were contacted.
“Nurse Mena reacted quickly to make sure the student was safe and to support the student,” JFK Middle School principal AJ Hundal said.
“I’m glad Nurse Mena was there to help this student,” Harris said of her heroics.