Organization Aims to Place LifeVACs across Hamilton County

February 28, 2023

Nick Hill,

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – In September, a beloved member of the Chattanooga community died after choking on food at a restaurant.

Greg Creswell would have been 60 years old today.

His family says that he lost the ability to breathe for 30 minutes last September which led to his death.

His family says that the Heimlich Maneuver was not performed, but if a particular piece of equipment had been present, Greg would still be with us today.

Now, his loved ones are honoring his memory by trying to get life saving devices into thousands of public spaces.

Rob Creswell, the brother of Greg Creswell and founder of GregO2, said that, “The Heimlich Maneuver is an important maneuver to know, which is about 63 percent effective. LifeVAC has been 100 percent effective.”

Rob Creswell and the rest of Greg Creswell’s loved ones were on hand at the Dominion Senior Living Home in Hixson to install the first LifeVAC device through their new non-profit, GregO2.

Rob Creswell said, “It’s saved over 600 lives, it’s saved senior’s lives, it’s saved infant’s lives, it’s saved the lives of people who lived by themselves and perhaps gets choked, and saved their own lives.”

The LifeVAC machine is designed to be used when someone is choking.

The device is placed on the victim’s mouth, and it sucks the object that they’re choking out of their windpipe to free their airways.

Dominion Senior Living is the first organization to jump onboard.

Cody Workman, the executive director for Dominion Senior Living, said that, “We spoke to our team here at Dominion, and they shared with us that they face many of these things, in terms of those who have challenges breathing or things getting stuck in their airways.”

Greg O2 hopes this is the first device of 3400 across Hamilton County.

They want the public to know that choking incidents can happen to anyone as they say Creswell was a very active individual.

But they also want his memory to be a driving force to save other lives.

Rob Creswell reminisced, “Greg was the nicest person that you would ever meet… Mickey and Greg, they ran every morning at 3 o’clock in the morning, if that’s not crazy. Greg loved to run the bridges every morning. That was their thing to get up early in the morning and run, and Greg was a giver, he wasn’t a taker, he was a giver.”

GregO2 hopes to have these devices in all restaurants, nursing homes, schools, and first responder vehicles in Hamilton County.

You can purchase these for your own home.

Creswell does warn there are as he puts it “knockoff” versions that are not certified and guaranteed to work like the LifeVAC.

The device can be purchased through LifeVAC with a discount code through Greg O2.

For more information on this organization and how to donate to their cause, visit their website.