Bradley County Emergency Medical Service was recognized by the Tennessee Emergency Medical Services for Children on Thursday evening in downtown Nashville. An EMS service was recognized from all eight regions of the state. Bradley County was the winner representing EMS Region 3.
Joining Bradley County EMS on the stage were Quantavius Cobb, the survivng patient, members from Erlanger’s Lifeforce and The Cleveland/Bradley 911 Center.
The emergency response that was recognized this year involved then 14-year-old Quantavius Cobb.
He had been seriously injured in a two vehicle accident at the intersection of 25th Street and Peerless Road on May 7, 2014. The injuries that he sustained were life threatening and the outcome was not expected to be a good one. Quantavius was treated on the scene by the paramedics and EMT’s. Erlanger’s Lifeforce was requested to respond to transport the patient to Children’s Hospital at Erlanger.
After his treatment at Erlanger, Quantavius went to the Shepard Center in Atlanta for rehab. He was able to go home at the end of June. He recently got cleared to play basketball again for his school. As soon as the coach put him in the game for the first time since the accident he shot a three pointer. He has come a long way and is doing well.
“It is great to see how well the system works all the way from the initial call to 911, EMS response, and the transition from EMS to air medical,” said Stan Clark, EMS spokesperson
The EMS Star of Life event is designed to honor the accomplishments of EMS personnel from all regions of Tennessee who provide exemplary life-saving care to adult and pediatric patients. The goal of the award is to recognize exceptional front-line care, with a focus on agencies and providers who are the initial care responders. The ceremony included a presentation of the actual adult or pediatric patient scenarios and reunited the EMS caregivers with the individuals they treated. Recipients were chosen from each of the eight EMS regions in the state. This is the premier event that kicks off EMS week within the state to recognize and honor excellent prehospital providers.
“Emergency response can be somewhat stressful on a normal day. A call like this one that involves someone’s child expounds the stress because most of our responders have children of their own. Thankfully, this child survived and his parents got to have their son back. These responders were recognized for their efforts and professionalism for being a part of such a miraculous event,” said Mr. Clark.