“They have a dad because of everyone in this room.” – Andrew Walker, Survivor
People are amazing and the individuals I was able to share the room with last Thursday at UVA Health are that and so much more. Two of our talented employees, Andrew and Katie Walker, had the opportunity to meet the men and women who not only helped them through a nightmare of a medical emergency, but ultimately saved Andrew’s life. These were the 911 emergency dispatchers who talked Katie through administering chest compressions on her husband and Seminole Trail volunteer firefighters/EMTs and Albemarle County police officers who responded to the Walker’s residence and transported Andrew to UVA Health, where he made a full recovery.
Dr. William Brady, Professor & Vice Chair of Emergency Medicine at UVA Health, took the opportunity to emphasize the importance of everyone learning how to properly administer chest compressions and CPR, and how to use a defibrillator. He encouraged us to download the free mobile phone app – PulsePoint (https://www.pulsepoint.org) as another means of helping those in need when every second counts.
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We also took time last week to remember and honor the memories of Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D'Sean Perry. On the two-year anniversary, November 13, students, faculty, and staff across Grounds took time to pause and reflect as the UVA Chapel bells rang the first verse of “Amazing Grace,” and then chimed three times to remember each of the student-athletes. We also keep in our thoughts those who were injured and are still healing from that fateful night.
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With the 2025 Session of the Virginia General Assembly only about 9 weeks away, we appreciated our state representatives making time to join us for the annual UVA Legislative Forum, hosted by President Ryan and the UVA Office of State Government Relations. I enjoyed the opportunity to moderate a great discussion among (right to left) Senator Creigh Deeds (11th District), Delegate Amy Laufer (55th District), and Delegate Katrina Callsen (54th District) as they shared their upcoming agendas and fielded questions from the audience.