Donna Key’s quick thinking and composure helped her save a life at the Great Lakes Community Action Partnership Clyde Senior Center.

On Nov. 25, 2025, Donna, a site supervisor at the center, performed the Heimlich maneuver on a senior visitor at the center who was choking on a piece of food.

“I was sitting at the check-in table and noticed she was coughing,” Donna said. “At first, I could hear her coughing. Then, I noticed she was turning blue around the mouth. I asked if she could breathe and she nodded that she couldn’t. That’s when I began the Heimlich.”

For Donna’s effort, she received the Red Cross Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders. The award was presented to Donna at the Clyde Senior Center on Feb. 26 by Rachel Hepner-Zawodny, executive director of the American Red Cross of Western Lake Erie.

This is the second time that Donna has saved a life through the Heimlich maneuver, the first being at a restaurant several years ago when she noticed a patron was choking. 

All GLCAP Sandusky County Senior Services and Transportation staff are trained in first aid through GLCAP’s own Mobility Management program staff, which also offers CPR/First Aid training to transportation providers in its nine-county service region.

“We hope that our staff never have to put their first aid training to use, but if the moment arrives, we want to ensure they’re ready for it,” GLCAP Senior & Transportation Services Director Robin Richter said. “We’re especially grateful for Donna’s heroism that saved a life that day.”