Westminster Window 5/9/13
May 9, 2013
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A Colorado Community Media Publication
ourwestminsternews.com
"EBNT $PVOUZ BOE +FòFSTPO $PVOUZ $PMPSBEP t 7PMVNF *TTVF Students from Standley Lake High School practice CPR on a mini Resusci Annies, or CPR manikins, at the high school on April 30. The American Heart Associa tion and Standley Lake alumna Lindsay Hayden UBVHIU TUVEFOUT IBOET POMZ $13 VTJOH the American Heart As TPDJBUJPO T $13 "OZUJNF curriculum and kit.
Learning to
save lives
Construction moving along on Northwest Rail Line By Ashley Reimers
areimers@ourcoloradonews.com It’s been almost a year since ground was broken for the Northwest Rail Line, a 41-mile commuter-rail line from Denver Union Station to Longmont. Regional Transpiration District representatives gave a construction update to residents of Westminster and Adams County connected to the project at a community open house on May 1. “We want to be engaged with the community throughout this whole process,� said project spokesperson Laura Rinker. “We want to hear the community’s questions and views on the project. The open houses also allow us to get people’s contact information so we can keep in touch with them for future events.� Northwest Rail Line is a fixed-guideway transit project that passes through North Denver, Adams County, Westminster, Broomfield, Louisville and Boulder ending Construction continues on Page 24
Mental health bill on way to governor Richard Meisinger, a sophomore at Standley Lake High School, practices CPR on a mini Resusci Annie, or CPR manikin, at the high school on April 30. The American Heart Association BOE 4UBOEMFZ -BLF BMVNOB -JOETBZ )BZEFO UBVHIU TUVEFOUT IBOET POMZ $13 VTJOH UIF "NFSJDBO )FBSU "TTPDJBUJPO T $13 "OZUJNF DVSSJDVMVN BOE LJU Photos by Sara VanCleve
Standley Lake alumna shares story, teaches students CPR By Sara Van Cleve
svancleve@ourcoloradonews.com When Standley Lake High School alumna Lindsay Hayden was just 17, she went into cardiac arrest at school and came very close to dying. She returned to Standley Lake on April 30 to share her experience of that day, and to teach students how they can save a life through Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation. “It was shortly after lunch on April 7, 2008,� Hayden said. “I was just sitting in class with a bunch of friends talking about prom which was coming up in two weeks. I fell to the floor and started seizing.� Hayden’s classmate, Cameron Durand, who worked at Water World as a lifeguard at the time, immediately began CPR as two other students ran to get the automated external defibrillator, or AED. The reason Standley Lake had the AED that saved her life was because of another student who did not survive cardiac arrest at school. “There was a student by the name of Dan Lunger and he was a 16-year-old swimmer,� Hayden said. “On the first day of our junior year he had passed away from sudden cardiac arrest, so some of his family donated the AED in memory of him to our school, and it turned out seven months later that
was the AED that saved me ... the first time my heart had no response and the second time my heart finally came back to normal rhythm, so at that point I was in full blown cardiac arrest,� Hayden said. Hayden had a pacemaker implanted and has had no other incidents since. The 22-year-old graduated from Colorado State University in May 2012 and is currently an employee of the American Heart Association where she advocates for awareness and the education of CPR to adults and youth alike. “I just think it’s really important to come back to Standley Lake and raise awareness,� Hayden said. “For me the most important thing is just to tell people this is what CPR is, to do it and don’t be scared to do it because it could save a life. You never know, we always say you can’t make them deader. You can only help somebody by doing CPR. You can’t hurt them.� On April 30, the American Heart Association and Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center provided 200 students with CPR Anytime curriculum kits. The kits include an instructional DVD for infant and adult CPR and the Heimlich maneuver, and a mini Resusci Annie, or CPR manikin, that clicks when CPR is performed accurately. Dave Rush, owner of CPR Professionals,
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Hickenlooper requested action in wake of Aurora shootings By Vic Vela
vvela@ourcoloradonews.com
Standley Lake High School alumna Lindsay Hayden shares her experience of going into cardiac arrest while at school with current Standley Lake students during UIF "NFSJDBO )FBSU "TTPDJBUJPO T WJTJU UP UIF TDIPPM UP UFBDI TUVEFOUT $13 $MBTTNBUFT GBTU UIJOLJOH BOE VTF PG $13 BOE BO "&% TBWFE )BZEFO T MJGF BOE TIF JT OPX BO BEWPDBUF XJUI UIF "NFSJDBO )FBSU "TTPDJBUJPO UP UFBDI youth about CPR. an American Heart Association authorized training center, led the students through the basics of hands-only CPR. “Being that cardiac arrest is the number one killer of Americans and far too few people know CPR, and it takes several exposures to CPR to be able to perform it confidently and accurately, this is an important opportunity for students to be exposed to CPR,� Rush said. Hayden said the thought of mouth-tomouth CPR with the breathing component makes many people nervous, especially CPR continues on Page 24
A bill that will pump nearly $20 million into the creation of a statewide mental health crisis response system is on its way to the desk of Gov. John Hickenlooper. Senate Bill 266, which was a major funding priority for Hickenlooper this legislative session, passed the House on May 6, following a bipartisan vote of 44-21. It had already cleared the Senate. Sen. Linda Newell, D-Littleton, called the bill “historic legislation.� “When it comes to mental health funding in Colorado, we have never funded it appropriately,� Newell said during a recent Senate debate. “I honestly believe this bill will save lives.� The bill creates a 24-hour mental health hotline system and sets up five walk-in crisis service centers around the state. Mobile and residential crisis services also would be available under the bill. The legislation also creates a public information campaign to raise awareness of mental health services and needs. The bill directs the Department of Human Services to set up a request-for-proposal process that will lead to a coordinated mental health crisis system. Health continues on Page 23
Graduation
2013
Special Edition
See high school features and commencement information on
Pages 6-7