Helping others save lives

Beth Mancini, senior associate dean for education innovation in the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, knows the importance of acting quickly when someone is suffering a heart attack.

“We were at home when my 50-year-old dad suffered sudden cardiac arrest,” says Dr. Mancini. “I was 16 at the time and unable to perform CPR. I stood by him and had to wait for someone to come and help, but he didn’t survive.”

A year later, her mother died after complications from cardiac surgery. Mancini says she never wants anyone else to go through what she endured and has devoted her career to helping others prevent errors and enhancing patient safety.

That’s why Mancini, who also chairs undergraduate nursing education, played a chief role in developing the 2015 American Heart Association Guidelines Update for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care, which among other things calls for quick action on the part of bystanders.

“That’s what saves lives,” Mancini says. “A bystander can jump into action, call 911, and start CPR.”