From left: Deputy Director of Emergency Communications Jackie Carroll, Master Emergency Communication Officer Kathy Larrimore and Director of Emergency Communications Julie McKercher

JAMES CITY COUNTY, Va., Aug. 17, 2011 — What did you do today? How did you make a difference in someone’s life? Inscribed on a pouch that holds their headsets are such phrases as prevented a suicide, helped find a lost child, recovered a stolen vehicle, worked with heroes. These are the typical day-to-day scenarios that occur in the life of a public safety emergency communication officer. One of the phrases that stands out for James City County, Va., particularly in the month of May 2011 was “instructed someone on CPR and it worked, they’re alive!” 

On Tuesday, May 24, just three hours into her shift, Master Emergency Communication Officer Kathy Larrimore (right) answered a call from a citizen on News Rd. close to the intersection of Centerville Rd. The citizen was reporting a man convulsing and lying unconscious in a field. After a quick assessment, Larrimore determined through briefly questioning the caller that the individual was not showing signs of life and gave the caller step-by-step instructions in CPR, encouraging them to continue until medics arrived. It was determined that the individual had been in cardiac/respiratory arrest and because of the instructions provided by Larrimore, this individual survived. 

From left: Deputy Director of Emergency Communications Jackie Carroll, Senior Emergency Communications Officer Diane Mason and Director of Emergency Communications Julie McKercher

Just two days later, on May 26, Senior Emergency Communication Officer Diane Mason (left) answered a similar call from a visitor located on Jamestown Island. He advised that his wife had fallen unconscious and through pointed questioning by Mason, it was determined that she was not breathing. Mason gave CPR directions to a bystander who relayed the information to the husband who provided CPR to his wife. Mason counted out loud and had the caller do so as well while the husband gave chest compressions. Like Larrimore’s call, this too was a cardiac/respiratory arrest resulting in the survival of the gentleman’s wife. 

(Senior Emergency Communication Officer Diane Mason with Deputy Director of Emergency Communications Jackie Carroll and Director of Emergency Communications Julie McKercher) 

These are two shining examples of how our public safety emergency communications center operates as an integral role in the “EMS Chain of Survival” within James City County daily. Both of these public safety communication officer were recently been added to “The Tree of Life” plaque displaying the name of and the date on which they “saved a life.”