Rescue in the air

Posted 10/21/14

“Usually,” said Park County Sheriff’s Office Communications Supervisor Monte McClain of the conference trip, “it’s a lot less dramatic.”

McClain and three other folks with local law enforcement were heading home on a Friday morning …

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Rescue in the air

Posted

Sheriff’s employees help save life aboard flight

Dispatchers from Park County travel to a software conference every year, but the recent event marked the first trip in which they were called upon to save someone’s life.

“Usually,” said Park County Sheriff’s Office Communications Supervisor Monte McClain of the conference trip, “it’s a lot less dramatic.”

McClain and three other folks with local law enforcement were heading home on a Friday morning flight from Reno, Nev., to Salt Lake City. They’d just hit cruising altitude when an 80-year-old woman suddenly gasped and slumped over in her seat.

Sheriff’s Communications Officer Charla Baugher — seated a row back — saw the collapse and grabbed the attention of McClain, who’s also an emergency medical technician for Powell Hospital EMS.

McClain immediately went to the woman’s aid and found she had no pulse. She wasn’t breathing.

A doctor and teacher from Reno plus an EMT from the East Coast quickly joined the effort to save the woman’s life.

“Anymore, there’s a lot of people in health care that fly,” McClain said, adding later that, “We’re at 36,000 feet and there’s not a whole lot of help other than what’s on board — and thankfully we had what we needed.”

While the other EMT and the school teacher continued to administer CPR, McClain prepared the aircraft’s automated external defibrillator to deliver a shock to restart the woman’s heart. However, the device became unnecessary, because just then, the CPR succeeded in reviving her.

With Baugher’s help, McClain started the woman on an IV drip of medication and assisted in monitoring the San Francisco Bay area resident’s condition for the final 30 or so minutes of the flight.

Delta flight attendants also lent a hand.

“If I needed something, it was right there,” McClain said.

The airplane’s tighter quarters made for an unusual rescue effort.

“It was kind of cramped,” McClain said. “I had to kneel in the aisle.”

Lisa Baker, an administrative assistant and dispatcher for the Powell Police Department who was also aboard the flight, was impressed by the emergency responders’ work within the close confines of the plane.

While she was ready to help when needed, in general, “I sat there in awe,” Baker said, adding, “It was amazing to watch.”

The pilot received a priority landing at Salt Lake City — which was the closest airport at the time of the emergency — and a team of paramedics from Salt Lake City Fire met the plane and the patient at the gate.

“She thanked me as she went out the door,” McClain said.

In a statement, Park County Sheriff Scott Steward praised those who work in public safety who “are always on the job, 24/7.

“I can’t say enough about Charla and Monte in this situation. Their quick thinking, immediate action and calm demeanor under the most difficult of circumstances no doubt saved the life of the victim,” Steward said. “I could not be more proud.”

McClain hopes the woman is doing well, but doesn’t know for sure. Delta officials and the Salt Lake City Department of Airlines said they would not disclose her name.

“I never did get her name,” he said. “I was kind of preoccupied.”

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