Over a dozen Community Hero Awards presented to Columbia Walmart employees

20 Community Hero Awards were presented by MU Health Care Monday at the Columbia Walmart on West Broadway.

18 employees, as well as a vendor from Nauser Beverage and a Walmart customer, were honored for their quick response after a 76-year-old woman went into cardiac arrest while shopping last month.

The staff at Walmart immediately started CPR and 10-11 other employees took part in forming a human barricade to protect the woman’s privacy.

Thanks to their efforts, an EMS supervisor told ABC 17 News crews that the woman’s life was likely saved.

EMS supervisor Daryn Stark recommends that every place of work–no matter the size–has an emergency plan in place.

“A lot of places have different teams for different things,” Stark told ABC 17 News. “If something gets spilled they have a hazmat team–there’s a chance you could have a medical emergency team. A group of employees in the store that could respond to emergencies and have specialized training and then all the other employees could have support training of some sort.”

If you want to get CPR certified, you can find classes online through the American Red Cross or contact MU Health.