Staff Member Saves Visitor’s Life ~ Voice Of The Township
Spring has sprung, and Trustee Austin Knox and the rest of the staff here at the Wayne Township Trustee Office wish everyone a Happy Easter!
Our Employee of the Month for March 2024 has been Shatayah Conner, Director of the Workfare and Employment Department. Following is a story of a recent incident that happened here at our office.
A man came into the lobby of our office building on township business. He said he was feeling a little faint, so the staff was keeping an eye on him as he sat in the waiting area. Soon he began slumping over in his chair. Shatayah Conner, came out of her office to check on him and after assessing the situation she took him to one of our conference rooms for more privacy. There he laid down on the floor and appeared to be passing out. Two other directors, Tim Jones and Katelyn Schuck, came to the room and assisted while Shatayah called 911 and began administering chest compressions to the man while on the phone with the emergency technician. The man was not responding, so the technician told Shatayah she needed the AED machine (or automated external defibrillator) we have on hand for such situations. Shatayah was ready to apply the AED when the man suddenly took a deep breath and opened his eyes. The ambulance crew arrived in good time, so Shatayah did not have to administer the shock of the AED.
Days later when the man returned to the township office, we asked him if he remembered what had happened. He had no memory of the incident and was surprised to learn of the seriousness of his situation.
The staff here at the Wayne Township Trustee Office has received many training sessions on emergency preparedness—from dealing with medical situations like this one to handling workplace violence incidents, to fire and weather-related emergencies. Always we appreciate such training while sometimes wondering what we would do if the emergency really happened. I, myself, have often wondered if I would be able to remember all the steps to take and what order to take them in.
When I asked her how she did it, Shatayah said that somehow everything she had learned all came back to her just when she needed it. Shatayah has had some extra training—she is a licensed CMA or Certified Medical Assistant and a Certified Phlebotomist (She can give shots and draw blood among other things—skills she learned for a previous job in the medical field.) Still, she said, this situation was stressful, and she wouldn’t want to have to do it again—though of course she would if she needed to.
The gentleman who visited our office was certainly fortunate that Shatayah Conner was here that day along with Katelyn Schuck and Tim Jones. And all of us here at the township are lucky that we work in a place that values being trained and prepared for such situations as happened that day.
With the spring arriving along with some of the wilder weather that we experience here in the Midwest, now is a good time for all of us to check on our own emergency preparedness. It may just save a life.
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