We applaud the critical work of our Central Station every day, especially when one of our employees becomes a hero and saves a life. We had reason to celebrate again recently when second shift Lead Jorge Rodriguez reacted quickly and prevented a fellow employee from choking to death. The incident was in the monitoring center itself on June 25.
Around 10:15 p.m., Jorge was working alongside third-shift Emergency Dispatch Operator Debra Harold when he noticed that she was struggling to breathe. He asked if she was OK and although she indicated “yes,” Jorge sensed that something was wrong. He asked again, and she didn’t say anything, then gagged when she took a drink of her beverage.
When Jorge asked, “Are you choking?” she gave him a hand signal as if to say “yes” and could not stand up from her chair. He quickly moved behind her and gave her the Heimlich maneuver, knowing that this was a matter of life and death—choking because of an obstructed airway is a leading cause of accidental death.
After a few compressions, a pill popped out of Debra’s mouth, but she was still choking and gagging, even though she was breathing easier. A team member called an ambulance and an EMT said she was out of danger.
In the days since, Jorge has had some time to reflect.
“Everything was happening so fast and all I was thinking is, ‘This lady needs help and there’s no time to waste!’” he said. “After the fact, when the adrenaline rush had faded, I started to get nervous and realized what had just had happened. I’m so glad I took the CPR and Heimlich classes in high school!”
