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The Harlan County Board of Education recently honored four individuals for lifesaving actions and a local physician who purchased the AED which helped save that life.

Superintendent Brent Roark said an incident outside the Wallins Elementary School on May 9 “kind of shook everyone up.”

A car pulled in front of the school and the driver sought assistant during a medical emergency for a passenger in the car.

Roark cited the heroic actions of Julie Mullins, a nurse with Family Health Care Associates stationed at Wallins; Chad Woods, a school occupational therapist and coach trained in first aid and CPR; Rhonda Collett, the Wallins secretary; and Josh Sargent, a Harlan County Deputy Sheriff and school resource officer at Wallins.

Dr. Abdulkader Dahhan was honored for his generous donation which previously funded purchase of equipment to help make the lifesaving action possible.

Chairman Gary Farmer noted that he had been talking with the driver of the vehicle off-site 11 minutes prior to the incident and he did so again after the emergency.

“It happened that quick,” said Farmer. “They were already out there (in 11 minutes). I talked to him and he said ‘something sent them there.’ He knows God intervened and sent him there (to the school).”

Roark presented a map of how the school staff was able to respond to the emergency as safety and healthcare initiatives have been added over the past six years.

He began, noting that Dahhan funded the purchase of AEDs for the district six years ago.

“We’ve been appreciative of that. And, this wasn’t the first time they have been used,” Roark told Dahhan.

He stated the board of education contracted with Family Healthcare Associates to provide services in our schools to students and staff. The agreement provides nurses and or nurse practitioners in schools across the district.

Efforts continued two years ago, said Roark, when the “board took action and started working with the sheriff’s office to provide school resource officers in our schools. Now we have our own police department and continue our relationship with the sheriff’s office with a goal of having officers in each school every day.”

He also noted the work of District Health Coordinator Christy Whitaker to maintain equipment, teach CPR and other critical first aid, and who developed cardiac response teams for each school which are now in place.

“We have the equipment we need, with the AEDs. We have the health care professionals we need in our schools. We have support from our police officers, our police department as well as the sheriff’s department in our schools every day,” said Roark. “All of those things came together on May 9 at Wallins. We had an individual pull up in front of the school that presented in a very extreme state, a life and death state. At that point, four of our employees went out to assist that person. That individual knew they could come to our school and a police officer would be there, a medical professional would be there and we would have a trained team that would be there.”

He said that “all of those things came together, the resources the board provided, the personnel that has been provided, Dr. Dahhan and the items you provided. Then the four individuals who stepped up that day and went out and saved the lady’s life. I think she was beyond in distress when they pulled in. They stepped up and did the things they were trained to do and utilized their skills to make sure that lady was stabilized until paramedics arrived, until the ambulance arrived. They changed the outcome for that individual. We are very appreciative to them for that. We are thankful to Dr. Dahhan, the board, and all those who had a hand in preparing us for such an emergency.”

Roark said the personnel went far beyond their daily duties to help someone who most likely would not have survived with the distance to a medical facility. It is 12.1 miles from the Wallins school to Harlan ARH Hospital. The projected normal travel time is 18 minutes. He noted it is important the administration and board of education recognize staff for such heroic measures.

“It is not really your job. Your job is to provide health care to our students and staff. The public realizes that we are also there with trained folks, trained police officers, trained medical professionals and have resources that can help them in a life and death situation. The public is coming to our schools because they can get help… If they don’t’ stop there they may not get the help they need in time,” he said.

The awards to Mullins, Cornett, Woods and Sargent read in appreciation of “Outstanding service to the school and community and in recognition of your courageous lifesaving actions under emergency conditions to give someone another chance of life.”

Roark presented an award to Dahhan for “outstanding service to school and community and in recognition of your generosity by providing lifesaving equipment for emergency conditions to give someone another chance at life.”

Sargent is an assistant track and field coach and was unable to attend to accept his award. His sons attended to accept on his behalf.

Dahhan said, “Glad to do it. We will do it again. Anything we need. I’ve been reminded the school is part of the community and the community is the school. If we don’t do it that way, it is not going to succeed.”