| On May 25, 1998, Senior
Security Officer/ Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Rebecca Lilga,
who was working in the security control center at IBM, received a call on
IBM’s 911 line from a cell phone. No one responded to her when she answered
the line, but she could hear someone yelling in the back ground, "Breathe,
breathe, come on breathe!" The voice in the background sounded upset,
close to hysterical.
Control Center Operator Joe Madrigal
was also working the shift and monitoring the call. After continuing to
listen to the call, with no one on the other end speaking, someone picked
up the phone and shouted "67 tank farm - we're in the 67 truck aisle!"
No further information was given but by that time, the control center operators,
recognizing that it was a serious medical call, had dispatched the emergency
medical services team, who were standing by in IBM Ambulance-1, waiting
for a location. Now that they had one, our team could proceed.
Lilga dispatched all security personnel
to the scene. Senior Security Officer/EMT Jim Duperly and Lead Security
Officer/ EMT Robert Davis responded to the area code-3 (lights and
sirens) in IBM Ambulance-1. Senior Officer/EMT Angela Jacobs responded
code-3 to the scene in her patrol vehicle. All units were on the scene
within one minute after the location was determined.
Upon arrival at the Building 067
truck aisle, the EMTs found a man who appeared to be in his mid-40’s who
was being crushed between a seismic bracing in the roof by the guard rails
on a hydraulic scissor lift he had been operating. The man was slumped
over the control stick, such that the lift was still trying to ascend,
exerting thousands of pounds of pressure on the man’s chest and back.
The patient was blue in the face,
unconscious, and in respiratory arrest. Duperly was able to access the
emergency controls at the base of the scissor lift and lower the platform,
and Davis began airway management while Jacobs took over cervical spine
immobilization.
|
The patient’s clothes
were removed and a secondary assessment completed. Vital signs were taken
and other injuries were stabilized. The scene was very chaotic and disruptive,
with at least 10 other contractors in the area who were very concerned
about their co-worker. The patient was placed on a back board, while the
EMTs continued performing manual respiration for him via bag valve mask
connected to a portable oxygen tank.
The patient was loaded into IBM
Ambulance-1 and was prepared for transport to Valley Medical Center, the
nearest trauma center. Jacobs drove code-3 to the hospital while Duperly
and Davis continued patient care. On the way to the hospital, the patient
became very combative due to traumatic hypoxia, (lack of oxygen to the
brain). Duperly attempted to restrain the patient while Davis continued
to ventilate the patient. During the incident, the patient’s jaw was clenched
shut, and with each exhale, blood was coming from his mouth, making ventilation
very difficult.
IBM Site Security Manager James
Geiger commended the team on their outstanding effort, quick response,
and life-saving teamwork.
A few days later, we were happy
to learn that the patient had survived the life- threatening injuries,
which included multiple broken ribs, a collapsed lung which had been causing
pressure on the heart, a ruptured spleen, and a broken collar bone. Do
to the heroic efforts of the EMTs and Control Center Operators at IBM,
the patient was delivered to advanced live support in a rapid manner, thereby
giving him the best chance to survive.
This is the 12th life the security
team has saved since we started working at IBM eight years ago. Our team
of EMTs at IBM San Jose has been on the cutting edge of advanced services
APS provides to its clients. They were the first EMTs to work for APS,
the first APS security team to use Automatic defibrillators, and, until
recently, the only APS employees to operate ambulances. Congratulations
to the entire team for its consistently innovative and over the top security
service!
|
