‘She was frantic’: Doctor saves life of choking co-worker

STARK COUNTY, Ohio (WOIO/Gray News) - A doctor used his life-saving skills to save a co-worker who was choking in the hospital cafeteria.

Dr. Harry Kourlis, Director of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital, was eating lunch when Jaida Evans ran up to their table and was “clearly in distress” and clutching her throat.

“I don’t even know how she got to our table,” Kourlis said. “She was frantic and looked like she was in really bad shape. She was moving no air past the food that was lodged in her throat.”

Kourlis immediately jumped up and performed the Heimlich maneuver on Evans. He said after about five or six tries, it worked and Evans could breathe again.

Evans is an inpatient pharmacy technician and said when she started choking, her first instinct was to look around and see who could help her.

“It was automatic, I’ve never had to do that before, but I’m glad I was able to help her,” Kourlis said.

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