Sen. Frist, Acting as Dr. Frist, Aids Collapsed Man

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) drew on his expertise as a heart surgeon Thursday and came to the rescue of a man who collapsed while visiting Congress.

The man, identified by Capitol Police as Graeme Sieber, 60, of Cleveland, Tenn., dropped to the floor from an apparent heart attack outside the office of Sen. John Chafee (R-R.I.) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

As Chafee staffer Patricia Parmer, a Girl Scout leader with cardiopulmonary resuscitation training, began working on the man, Chafee’s secretary, Donna Davis, ran down the hall to Frist’s office.

“Dr. Frist responded immediately,” said a breathless Chafee, who went to the Senate floor to praise Frist and inform others of the emergency action.

“He really knew what he was doing and took complete charge,” said Chafee.

Frist ran out into the hall and took over from Chafee’s staffer. When a rescue crew arrived, Frist inserted a tube into Sieber’s airway and later used two electric shocks to get Sieber’s heart beating again.

He was listed in critical condition in the cardiac care unit of George Washington University Hospital later in the day.