Laurels & lances: Helping in times of need

Laurel: To being in the right place at the right time. Arnold police Chief Rob Haus is used to being in the thick of an emergency. He’s not just a law enforcement officer. He’s also a trained EMT. His wife, Crystal, is also no stranger to a life-or-death situation. She’s a nurse practitioner who works in cardiology.

But on Sept. 20, they were just stopping by the Giant Eagle in New Kensington to pick up a card on the way to a wedding reception. That wedding may have saved Dennis Soroka’s life.

The Lower Burrell man, 80, was picking up a prescription when he suffered a cardiac arrest. Not only did the pharmacy have an automated external defibrillator (AED), it was also where the Hauses were when the emergency call came out. They immediately responded.

The couple used the AED. They did CPR to restart his breathing. They kept him alive until New Kensington EMS could get him to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he had a cardiac catheterization and an implanted defibrillator.

The quick action on a day off is why understanding CPR and first aid devices is so important. It’s why those first people who get to us in times of need make all the difference.

“The real heroes were those who performed CPR. What I did didn’t save his life,” said Dr. Josh Silverstein, the AGH doctor who treated Soroka.

Laurel: To being on the front lines. Schools have been waging a war against hunger for years. They know that kids who are hungry are not kids who focus or learn or test well.

In addition to free and reduced lunch programs, schools have been making strides with breakfasts and snacks. They try to address hunger over the weekend and the summer. They know, for many kids, the food they get at school might be the only reliable nutrition they receive.

They are now being tested more than ever. It was challenging enough with inflation. The programs hit by Department of Government Efficiency cuts earlier in the year were another blow. But with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) being shuttered amid the ongoing federal government shutdown, many lifelines are being snipped.

Schools are doing what they can to help.

At Jeannette City School District, that means partnering with the United Way to collect family meal kits with enough food for two full days for four people. Baldwin-Whitehall School District has a drop-off for food and hygiene items available to students through the Purple Pantry. Derry Area School District is partnering with the Rotary Club of Latrobe, which also works with Greater Latrobe School District to distribute food to students on Fridays.

This list is by no means complete. Most districts are doing anything they can to help students and their families, and they are to be commended for it.