The American Red Cross of New Mexico honored a Consuelo’s Place front desk worker Monday morning after the individual revived a shelter resident experiencing an overdose months ago.
In the early morning of May 19 this year, Josefina Melissa Samaniego was working a graveyard shift when a woman notified her of a male resident who was unresponsive. Samaniego called 911 before quickly springing into action. She administered Naloxone nasal spray—a medicine that reverses opioid overdoses—and performed two cycles of chest compressions before administering another dose of the drug. The man regained consciousness prior to first responders’ arrival.
Samaniego tells SFR the “overwhelming” experience represented a stark difference from her typical work day.
“The graveyard shifts are usually dead, nothing happens,” she says.
Around 20 people attended the celebratory event at the shelter, including District 1 Councilor Alma Castro and Mayor Alan Webber. It marks the first time the Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders has been given in Santa Fe in over two decades, according to American Red Cross of New Mexico Executive Director Kathy Segura-Salas, who is a Santa Fe native.
“I was bursting this morning. I was so excited to be here,” Segura-Salas tells SFR. “The state has been responding to something so devastating on the other side of the map with the wildfires, so being able to come here today to celebrate felt really great.”
The Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders is the highest honor given to an individual who saves or sustains a life using skills learned in an American Red Cross training course. The certificate which comes alongside a pin bears the signatures of the president and CEO of the American Red Cross, as well as the chairman.
“This award recognizes that somebody did something so selfless, so showing that to [Samaniego] and making her the star today is super important,” Segura-Salas says. “That’s what we did here today, and to be able to have the mayor here and make this such a special day for her, I mean, there’s so many lives being saved, but when we actually get to be in the room with somebody that has done it, it speaks volumes. It’s important.”
Webber helped place the pin on Samaniego before making a few comments.
“This is a big deal,” he said as he stood next to Samaniego. “You saved a life. You have changed the world. You did it all by yourself, with the help of training and putting it into effect to save somebody who otherwise wouldn’t make it, that’s amazing.”
City officials established Consuelo’s Place—which hosts unhoused individuals and families in 61 rooms—in March 2020 in a building that formerly served as a dorm room for the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, which closed in 2018. Shelter Manager Michele Williams tells SFR while clients frequently deal with a history of substance abuse, this instance marked the first time staff had to administer CPR to an individual during her time with the shelter.
“It’s pretty uncommon…and it’s not always common that CPR is successfully done. The proper training is really key to that,” Williams says. “To have a life saving award situation and being one for one at Consuelo’s makes me pretty happy.”
Williams notes every staff member holds a Red Cross CPR certification and knows how to administer overdose reversal drugs—precautionary measures that proved valuable.
“Certainly knowing how to administer CPR and Naloxone or Narcan are definitely skills that we need to have education and awareness to be able to provide for our clients,” Williams says. “It was so great that we were able to do that so that we can get them the resources to be more successful in life. That can’t happen if they die, right? So saving lives is part of the deal.”
Samaniego says she hopes the outcome will inspire others to receive training, adding Santa Fe needs more people working in “this type of environment.”
“I didn’t think it was gonna be something this big. I thought it was gonna be like a small certificate, or something like that, so seeing so many people was interesting,” she says. “It’s good, though, because it is important for people to know that they have a safe place to come to.”