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American Morning

Interview with Ken Kronheim

Aired January 02, 2003 - 08:09   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now we've got a story of a doctor in Florida, a doctor who happened to be in Florida who actually was on the job, well, even though he was on vacation at the time. Get this, he also happens to be incoming Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
On at least four other occasions now since becoming a senator, Frist has had to provide medical help for injured or for ill persons.

Now, earlier this morning I spoke with Captain Ken Kronheim. He's a paramedic who was on the scene with Senator Frist and he said that the senator's aid was crucial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAPT. KEN KRONHEIM, BROWARD COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE: Probably the most important thing Dr. Frist did was triage the scene for us, which basically means sorting out the patients according to priority. We had so many patients on scene, eventually decisions have to be made on who gets treated first, who gets transported first. And he was instrumental in helping us sort out the critical patients.

He actually pulled me away from one patient to render care to another patient who he correctly identified as being more critical and then he actually helped me draw up muscle relaxants and sedatives to facilitate advanced airway procedures.

HARRIS: Yes, and that's a big help considering that, considering the fact that he's a thoracic surgeon. That's part of his expertise.

When did you find out and when did you realize that he was a senator?

KRONHEIM: Basically when he left. He did look familiar and it was known that he was a thoracic surgeon. And when I heard his name mentioned, we took a list of all the bystanders, and there was numerous bystanders on the scene. There were off duty doctors, nurses and paramedics that were all helping. We basically put two and two together and realized that that was Senator Frist...

HARRIS: And then you...

KRONHEIM: ... on the scene helping us. But he -- yes.

HARRIS: You just watched him ride off into the sunset at that point, then, huh?

KRONHEIM: Absolutely. He sneaked out before he could get any thanks or glory. A true hero.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we've heard that story at least a couple times before, where he's never asked for credit and didn't stick around to get credit for stepping in like that, as he has a few times in the past now. As you know, Frist was a heart surgeon before he entered politics eight years ago.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired January 2, 2003 - 08:09   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Now we've got a story of a doctor in Florida, a doctor who happened to be in Florida who actually was on the job, well, even though he was on vacation at the time. Get this, he also happens to be incoming Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.
On at least four other occasions now since becoming a senator, Frist has had to provide medical help for injured or for ill persons.

Now, earlier this morning I spoke with Captain Ken Kronheim. He's a paramedic who was on the scene with Senator Frist and he said that the senator's aid was crucial.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAPT. KEN KRONHEIM, BROWARD COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE: Probably the most important thing Dr. Frist did was triage the scene for us, which basically means sorting out the patients according to priority. We had so many patients on scene, eventually decisions have to be made on who gets treated first, who gets transported first. And he was instrumental in helping us sort out the critical patients.

He actually pulled me away from one patient to render care to another patient who he correctly identified as being more critical and then he actually helped me draw up muscle relaxants and sedatives to facilitate advanced airway procedures.

HARRIS: Yes, and that's a big help considering that, considering the fact that he's a thoracic surgeon. That's part of his expertise.

When did you find out and when did you realize that he was a senator?

KRONHEIM: Basically when he left. He did look familiar and it was known that he was a thoracic surgeon. And when I heard his name mentioned, we took a list of all the bystanders, and there was numerous bystanders on the scene. There were off duty doctors, nurses and paramedics that were all helping. We basically put two and two together and realized that that was Senator Frist...

HARRIS: And then you...

KRONHEIM: ... on the scene helping us. But he -- yes.

HARRIS: You just watched him ride off into the sunset at that point, then, huh?

KRONHEIM: Absolutely. He sneaked out before he could get any thanks or glory. A true hero.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we've heard that story at least a couple times before, where he's never asked for credit and didn't stick around to get credit for stepping in like that, as he has a few times in the past now. As you know, Frist was a heart surgeon before he entered politics eight years ago.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com