Bend Fire & Rescue gives Life Saver Award to local woman, dispatcher

Published 3:21 pm Wednesday, April 5, 2023

Bend Fire & Rescue awarded the 2022 Life Saver Award to an emergency dispatcher and a local woman who performed CPR on her husband when he went into cardiac arrest.

Deschutes County Dispatcher A.J. Franzke and Jenae Cruikshank, of Bend, received the award, Trish Connolly, the department’s deputy chief of administration, said in a press release Wednesday.

Cruikshank immediately called 911 when her husband, Scott Cruikshank, went into cardiac arrest while mowing the lawn on July 9, 2022, the press release said. Franzke guided Cruikshank while she administered CPR until emergency responders arrived. Her husband survived.

“These cardiac survival stories are becoming more and more common in Bend,” said Drew Norris, the department’s deputy chief of emergency medical services. Norris said emergency medical personnel are more likely to revive a person who receives CPR immediately.