Dr. Rick Chaeff, an ’87
West Campus alumnus and former West faculty member (‘87-’97) who is now a deputy
with the Santa Clara Sheriff's Department, was recently honored by the San Jose
Board of Supervisors and the Santa Clara County Society of the California
Chiropractic Association for performing CPR and saving the life of a 17-day-old
infant in June.
Dr. Chaeff taught the
emergency procedures course at Palmer’s West Campus for 10 years, during which
he certified nearly 1,000 students in CPR. He’d performed CPR several times, in
practice as well as on duty – but never on an infant. Nor under such stressful
conditions, where every second was a matter of life or death.
The child’s grandmother
was frantically driving her daughter and the baby to the Santa Clara Valley
Medical Center when she noticed the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s vehicle parked
outside a Campbell coffee shop, where Dr. Chaeff and his partner were getting
ready to start their shift. The grandmother stopped the car, and ran inside,
screaming for help. It took several tries, but on the fifth attempt, as the
infant lay in his arms, straining to breath, her complexion turning blue, Dr.
Chaeff was able to clear mucus and resuscitate the child, who was immediately
transported by ambulance to SCVMC.
Ken Yeager, president
of the San Jose Board of Supervisors, and representative for the district in
which the West Campus is based, read the commendation to a packed chamber
audience. The baby’s mother and grandmother also had words of praise and
appreciation for Dr. Chaeff and his patrol partner, Michael Laddy.
“It’s obviously
terrifying when you have a two-week-old infant in your arms, and it was a bit
wild for a while; but it worked out as well as it could have,” said Dr. Chaeff,
who has served as tactical medical team leader of the Santa Clara County
Sheriff's Emergency Response Team (SERT) since 1997, and provides chiropractic
care for some of his fellow officers as well for the members of the San Jose
Ballet Company.
Dr. Chaeff’s role as a
Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department is his primary full-time position, but
he’s been an active chiropractic practitioner and advocate in the years since he
was a member of the West Campus faculty – which is one of the primary reasons
that the Santa Clara CCA society decided to also recognize Dr. Chaeff’s
live-saving heroics.
“The life-saving effort
that Dr. Chaeff performed highlights not only his personal expertise, but also
the high level of education and professional training that a doctor of
chiropractic receives,” said Dr. Robert Chatfield, D.C., ’83 West alumnus and
alternate director of the Santa Clara County CCA chapter, who was accompanied by
fellow officers Dr. Brad Kobsar (’95) and Dr. Stacey Adams-Hammond (’02) in the
award presentation.
“As doctors, it is so
important to be prepared for life’s dramatic and unexpected emergencies. As
board members of the Santa Clara CCA, it is important to bring positive
attention to the profession, and to professionals like Dr. Chaeff, who displays
the highest virtues that our profession serves.”
"I am so grateful. A
thousand thank yous or words in the dictionary won't be enough," said a
teary-eyed Maria Adelman, the grandmother of two-month-old Isys. "People say
there are angels here on Earth, and there they are."
"I didn't know anything
about chiropractic before the incident, and obviously I didn't know (Dr. Chaeff)
was a chiropractor when we saw the patrol car, and stopped,” said Isys’ mother,
Bernice Brown.“But what I do know now is that his (chiropractic) training helped
save my baby's life."
“My main emphasis in
teaching CPR was always to get students to remain calm, and never let emotions
and feelings during an emergency be one’s guide,” said Dr. Chaeff, who in 1993
received the prestigious William Poelle award from then-San Jose Mayor Susan
Hammer in a ceremony recognizing the heroic efforts of police officers who have
helped save a person’s life.
“The worst thing in the
world during an emergency is to ‘go with your gut’ or be ‘intuitive,’ trusting
the universe will magically tell you the right thing to do. This does not happen
in ‘real life’. The Universe is perfectly happy to kill you, if you don't use
your head. When the adrenaline hits, it tends to cut one’s IQ in half. So, in a
CPR case, the goal is to be UN-emotional, and to objectively keep your
priorities straight. In my experience, both on the street and in practice, the
student or doctor who embraces ‘intuitive’ mindset does so because it’s easier
than studying hard. I prefer the serious student or doctor to work on me.
”Dr. Chaeff is equally
honored and humbled by the worldwide media attention that his life-saving and
heart-warming story garnered. And while the exterior uniform shows the law
enforcement side of his life, he also wears his Palmer pride every day on the
job.
“If students learn
anything from my experience, I hope they see what a great education that Palmer
provides in preparing its students for the clinical challenges they will see in
practice,” said Dr. Chaeff, who also provided care for poor villagers in Mexico
with the “Flying Doctors.”
“It was an honor to
receive the award from the Board of Supervisors, but I’m equally honored to be
recognized by my chiropractic peers. As a Palmer alumnus and former instructor
at the West Campus, I’m forever ‘true to my school,’ and my alma mater will
always be an important part of my education and life.”
Photo: Dr. Stacey
Adams-Hammond, Dr. Robert Chatfield (left) and Dr. Brad Kobsar (right) presented
Dr. Rick Chaeff (center) with a recognition resolution at a ceremony honoring
Dr. Chaeff’s life-saving CPR on Isys, whom he’s holding.