Shirley Truland applies emergency response training she learned at Scrub Club

RANGELEY — Sixteen-year-old Shirley Truland received praise for keeping her cool when action was needed on her first day on the job at Mountain Star Estate (MSE), a popular wedding venue in Rangeley.

Truland, a student at Rangeley Lakes Regional School, had taken part in Summer Scrub Club, a 3-day health career exploration camp at Franklin Memorial Hospital, open to all students entering grades 8-12, this past June.

Demonstrations and hands-on activities included in the program were casting, suturing, first aid, and emergency response mock accident role-playing.

Upon completion, campers such as Truland, received American Heart Association Heartsaver CPR, First Aid, and Stop the Bleed certifications.

This experience allowed Truland to respond quickly, and with confidence, according to MSE Wedding Coordinator and Events Manager Adrian Heatley.

Heatley was clearly impressed by Truland stating, “She’s so confident and poised, and I don’t see that in a lot of kids.”

Heatley recalled that during a recent wedding ceremony in the beginning of August, one of the groomsmen fainted.

“It was very, very hot. And one of the groomsmen ended up passing out cold,” said Heatley.

The ceremony site is just a minute’s walk up from the event barn where Heatley knew there were multiple first aid kits on hand, so Heatley summoned the staff in earshot to retrieve one of them.

Referring to Truland, Heatley said, “Before I even knew what was happening, she was already on top of it. She ended up getting her own first aid kit and then coming up with gloves on, ready to help.”

Since earning her certification, Truland always carries her own first aid kit.

“I keep my own in my bag. So, I just ran and grabbed my bag. And then I ran up there and made sure he was okay. And he was,” recalled Truland.

Program Director Jolene Luce, BSHA, Western Area Health Education Center for Franklin Community Health Network was also very happy to hear the news and stated that while she was unaware if there were other such students who had experienced similar situations, there were “…some very cool stories from Scrub Club,” adding, “We have been running this program at Franklin for 17 years. We have nurses that work here now as RNs because of Scrub Club!”

“I have never actually encountered an emergency like that, so I was trying to recall everything I knew,” said Truland.

“Someone thought he was bleeding. So that’s when I went to see if he needed medical attention, but he didn’t. We gave him water and he was very lightheaded and a little woozy, but he was okay,” recalled Truland.

Truland admits her experience at Scrub Club as well as this incident has her thinking about her future in a different light than she had before, “I went to Scrub Club because I was interested in psychological nursing, but now I’m more interested in physical elements. I still am interested in nursing, and I am more interested after attending that club.”

Truland is planning to attend Scrub Club again next summer and thinks it would be good for others as well, “I’d recommend the Scrub Club to anyone, even if you’re not interested in nursing as a career. I think it’s a very good skill set to learn because you get to understand what to do in an emergency: how to give CPR, and basic skills I feel like more people should learn.”