05/13/2020|Inside Verizon
Quick action saves a life at Verizon Wireless store.
Equipped with knowledge from safety training and supported by some NFL muscle, Tampa manager runs to a crisis to save a life.
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Tampa V Teamers Steve Currier (left) and Lovett Purnell.
When the security guard at the Dale Mabry Verizon Wireless store in Tampa collapsed recently, solutions manager Steve Currier had the experience and help needed to act quickly and save her life.
Steve knew what to do based on training he’d received in the Army and at Verizon. But he needed some help. Enter solutions specialist and former NFL player Lovett Purnell, who worked with Steve to turn the guard face up.
A work break turns nearly fatal.
The security guard had taken a break outside the store, feeling dizzy. When she returned, she got as far as the doorway before collapsing and landing face down on the pavement.
“I got to her quickly and called 911,” recalls Steve. “She was unresponsive when we called her name, her hands were discolored, and she wasn’t breathing. It was critical to turn her on her back so I could begin doing chest compressions. Fortunately Lovett was there to help do that.
“The combat life-saving training in the Army and Verizon’s virtual reality safety course on armed robbery in retail stores taught me that when a life is at stake, you need to stay calm and think clearly. You don’t have time to make any mistakes.”
Running to a crisis saves a life.
The 911 response was quick and the responder took over, got the guard breathing and moved her to the local hospital ICU. “We didn’t know if she’d live,” says Steve. “She has a five-year-old son whose father died of cancer recently. Her son could have been an orphan. I thought about that all night.”
But the guard was back at work a week later, nearly in tears when she saw the people who saved her.
“She had been in back of the store on her break. If she’d collapsed there, we wouldn’t have seen her and gotten to her so quickly,” says Steve. “Something like that gives you a new perspective on life. It can be gone in an instant.”
Got two minutes to spare? You could learn hands-only CPR from the Red Cross with this short video and be the bystander who provides life-saving care until professional responders arrive. Classes are also available from the Red Cross.
