First responders at Timken’s Gaffney, S.C., Plant were real lifesavers in 2006. After Mike, a machine repairman, suffered a heart attack and stroke on the job, trained first responders applied automatic electronic discharge (AED) paddles to Mike’s chest, shocking his heart back to life.

 

Dott Clary, senior occupational healthcare analyst and registered nurse, built Gaffney’s first responder team from scratch in the 1980s.

 

"The team never missed a beat," she said. “All of the planning, training and meetings paid off. The team responds to emergencies when I'm not here. In this case, it was critical that they respond even though I was just a minute or two away. They saved Mike's life."

 

Most Timken U.S. plants have first responder programs like Gaffney’s. Internationally, Timken first responder teams are dictated by law in some countries and, in others, dependent on the number of associates working there – or the medical capabilities available.

 

Mike has shown no lasting effects from the attack or stroke. A lone stent holds open the artery that had stopped supplying blood to his heart. He doesn't remember anything about that day – only what his fellow associates told him.

 

"I have nothing but good things to say about the first responders," he said. "They're the reason I'm still here."