St. Cloud State student Kevin Peine will graduate in the spring with a degree in community health, but he has a long history of making a positive impact on the lives of local residents.
Peine graduated from Sauk Rapids-Rice High School in 2005 before joining the Navy for eight years. After returning to civilian life, he worked at a factory putting together cabinet doors for a year before desiring a new career path.
“I had a neighbor who was a paramedic, and I’d had an interest in emergency medicine in the Navy, but I’d never pursued it,” Peine said. “I’d had some medical training, and I thought I could further it by getting EMT certified and becoming a paramedic.”
Peine has now been working as a licensed paramedic with Mayo Clinic Ambulance for nearly 10 years. While he said it can be a physical and mental toll, it provides something new every shift.
“I get to help people every day, and every day is different,” Peine said. “You are always making an impact on someone else’s life.”
He’s also made an impact with the Rice Fire Department, recently being promoted to lieutenant earlier this year.
But it was ultimately an unexpected injury that led him to pursue a degree at SCSU.
Peine injured his latissimus dorsi muscle lifting a body, which in his line of work can quickly sideline you. With the possibility of further injuries hindering his ability to work, he sought out the community health program at St. Cloud State.
It offered him a chance to help people in a different capacity.
“Instead of being reactive, I get to do more preventative work on healthy living and emergency preparedness,” Peine said.
As part of his degree’s culminating project, Peine partnered with Benton County Public Health to lead cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) training sessions around the county this summer.
He said the first three chains of survival for AED use rely on bystanders, which includes activation of the system, chest compressions and early defibrillation.
But not every situation will have an AED present, particularly in rural areas. Chest compressions are still essential to allow for blood flow and to keep the brain and heart alive during an emergency.
In these critical moments it can take time for emergency teams to reach the area, which is why Peine is working to equip community members with the skills they need to respond effectively in life-threatening situations.
The CPR course has a compression-only focus for emergencies where an AED can’t be accessed. He has taught classes at the Sauk Rapids Government Center, Foley Public Library, Benton County’s Community Outpost and various churches throughout the county. He will conclude the summer with a final training at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School.
The Benton County Economic Partnership, Foley Fire Department and Rice Fire Department also helped partner in various roles, including locating funding for AED’s and helping train and provide equipment.
“Kevin’s efforts bridge the gap between emergency medical care and public health education,” said Paula U’Ren, chair of the Department of Kinesiology, Community Health and Gerontology at SCSU. “His initiative exemplifies community health in action — bringing lifesaving skills to underserved populations and highlighting the impact of hands-on learning through internships.”
Peine’s employer Mayo Clinic has three core values of patient care, research and education. They desire their workers to take up at least one of these values beyond patient care, and Peine has identified with education.
He helps take on new students as interns while working on the ambulance, and he also has a history of teaching in the classroom as a skills instructor at St. Cloud Technical and Community College.
“It’s been a great experience in community education,” Peine said. “I want to pass on my knowledge to the community.”
