QCC Employees Act Heroically; Recognized by Mayor Petty at Worcester City Council Meeting

Worcester, MA – July 24, 2014 – At the city’s only July City Council meeting, two QCC employees were recognized by Mayor Joseph Petty for multiple life-saving acts during medical emergencies at the Worcester Senior Center.

Matthew Sullivan from Dudley,  a Food Service Lab Site Supervisor at QCC’s  Hospitality and Recreation Management Program and co-worker Brandi Manca of East Templeton, Food Service Lab Technician I were both called upon in emergencies to provide life-saving assistance to Senior Center regulars, several times in the past year.

QCC’s Hospitality and Recreation Management program is housed at the Worcester Senior Center where students run “Bobby M’s Diner”, a fully operational eatery. Mr. Sullivan and Ms. Manca were both working, supervising students preparing food and waiting on customers when each incident occurred. In earlier emergencies, both employees acted quickly to assist a customer who lost consciousness and another who fell, suffering a broken leg. The most recent incident garnered an appreciative letter to the City Manager from Amy Vogel Waters, the Elder Affairs Director at the Worcester Senior Center.

On June 4, a regular at Bobby M’s Diner and his wife were waiting for coffee when the husband began to have a seizure. Ms. Manca immediately notified Mr. Sullivan who performed CPR, while Ms. Manca comforted the wife, keeping her calm and the scene controlled. The couple is well-known at the Senior Center; the wife volunteers at the front desk and her husband comes in for lunch and plays piano for other diners. The gentleman celebrated his 62nd birthday yesterday, thanks to Mr. Sullivan and Ms. Manca.

Ms. Manca says of the recent medical incidents, “There have been three in the last four months. It is very stressful but I think I handled myself well.” Mr. Sullivan, who’s been with QCC full-time for over a year and part-time for a number of years said, “As an Eagle Scout I have been trained to always ‘Be Prepared’, and this was just a case of being in the right place at the right time and using the skills I’ve learned over the years." Pat Hutchinson, Coordinator and Professor of QCC’s Hospitality and Recreation Management Program said recently, “I am so proud of my employees. They really are the best and I consider myself lucky to have them.” Amy Vogel Waters remarked on Mr. Sullivan’s and Ms. Manca’s actions at the City Council meeting saying, “They rose to the challenges remarkably. It demonstrates the excellent training and supervision they received from Quinsigamond Community College, our partner.”