In her 'other career,' WWU biology instructor Janice Lapsansky gets to help save lives

It's common for WWU employees to wear many hats on the job, but few can match the one Biology Department Senior Instructor Janice Lapsansky puts on almost every day: It's pointy, red, and has the words "FIRE CAPTAIN" on it.

Lapsansky, who has been at WWU since 1990, has been a volunteer firefighter for the past 10 years at the Sandy Point Fire Department west of Ferndale. At the same time, she worked part-time for more than 20 years at the St. Joseph Hospital Emergency Department, utilizing her training as a first responder.

"I reluctantly gave up my shifts in the ED; I was just getting too busy," she said. "But I still get calls from time to time when somebody nearby on campus needs help."

Lapsansky says she loves her "other career" not only because it gives her the chance to help people, but because it is so physically and mentally challenging. Last year alone, the Sandy Point Fire Department responded to 99 calls for fire or medical aid; the difference between going out on calls now as compared to when she started? Now both her children -- and her husband -- go out with her. All are members of the SPFD.

"When we're out on a call, it's just too busy to really think 'oh wow, that's my daughter,' or 'hey, that's my son,'" she said. "But when we're in training, it's easy to lapse into that, because of course, I'm just so proud of them. My daughter is preparing to take her Certified EMT Training in Spokane while she's at Gonzaga, and my son (age 16) is seriously considering a career in the fire service, too."

Lapsansky said she gets the most satisfaction from the mundane calls that come into the station, usually requests to provide medical or emotional support.

"Helping people get back to their normal lives as quickly as possible is just incredibly rewarding," she said. "Serving the public is really a calling -- not just for me, but for all of these folks who work in the fire service or as first responders. It's an honor to work with such a varied group of volunteer professionals, and it's great that I'm able to carry these skills with me wherever I go."

Lapsansky is able to blend her experience in the fire service with her love of academic research as well, enlisting more than 650 EMS responders in Whatcom County to assist her. One recent study involved the use of a suction-cup device applied to the chest during CPR to provide an in-and-out "bellows" effect that not only pushes blood out of the heart, but, because the suction is able to pull the chest cavity open, pulls blood back to the heart as well. The result: Better blood flow means more oxygen into the bloodstream and more oxygenated blood to the brain, hopefully preventing brain damage until the patient starts breathing on his or her own again.

Receiving the aid of the county's EMTs -- who know her not just as a researcher but as one of their own -- helps provide the kind of data she'll need to show how these techniques and equipment are making a difference in people's lives.

"The initial results of this study are really, really promising," she said. "It's very exciting work."

"Obviously I love my job here at Western, because I came here for grad school and never left," she said. "And the fact that I'm able not only to keep teaching but also to do this research in the field at the same time as volunteering with the fire service ... I just feel extremely lucky."