Article Display

Ambulatory service saves life

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Christopher Maldonado
  • 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. --  As the clock ticks to 1 p.m., ambulatory service members wait in their work center. The silence is broken by a notification heard around the facility.

The announcement, a standard fire alarm call at the base dormitories, took a turn for the worse when a cardiac arrest event unfolded right before their eyes.

“Talk about everything lining up perfectly,” said Barry Reed, 20th Medical Group paramedic. “We were walking out the door to head out for the alarm and this lady pulls into the parking lot in her car.”

A woman en route to the 20th MDG main treatment facility turned toward the ambulatory services facility parking lot, hoping they would be able to help with her coworker suffering from a sickness.

“I said, ‘okay we don’t mind checking him out,’” said Reed. “I asked her about the patient’s medical history. I opened the door and the individual was a little lethargic. He was not really answering questions.”
Barry Reed, 20th Medical Group paramedic, has served alongside ambulatory services Airmen for nearly 11 years, having assisted since its enactment in 2007.
Photo Details / Download Hi-Res

During the questioning process, the individual vomited on the responder before going into cardiac arrest.

Reed said that he jumped into the ambulance and started up the cardiac monitor at 1:06 p.m., while his partners, Staff Sgt. Jerry Byrom, 20th MDG emergency medical technician journeyman, and Airman 1st Class Brandon Starr, 20th MDG paramedic, and Tech. Sgt. John Bartlett, 20th MDG ambulatory service flight chief, helped the individual into the ambulance.

“He was not responding anymore,” said Reed. “I hooked him up to the cardiac monitor, and he stopped breathing.”

Reed applied the first shock from the defibrillator to the patient at 1:08 p.m., which had no effect. Starr then provided breaths using a bag valve mask in an attempt to bring the patient back to life.
U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Brandon Starr, 20th Medical Group paramedic, served as a paramedic for six years prior to joining the Air Force in 2016.
Photo Details / Download Hi-Res


The individual was dead for two minutes. In that small amount of time, the members acted quickly in order to save his life.

Reed applied a second shock using the defibrillator at 1:10 p.m., after which the patient sprang back to life and asked, “What happened? Where am I?”

“I gave him medicine which helped him breathe on his own until he was able to be treated by the doctors in the facility,” said Reed.

The man was transported to a local treatment facility where the doctors were able to ensure his safety and get him back to work a few weeks later.

“The individual came back here the day before he had to go to work to thank us,” said Byrom. “We asked him if he remembered anything from that day, and he said, ‘I remember being sick at work and waking up in the hospital.’”

“Everything lined up as perfectly as it could because if we would have left 30 seconds earlier, we would have been at the dorms and not in the ambulatory parking lot,” said Reed. “The lady driving would have come to the facility and potentially missed out on the care that we provided that day.”
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jerry Byrom, 20th Medical Group emergency medical technician, served at the emergency room at the Landstuhl Medical Center, in Landstuhl, Germany for a year before arriving to Shaw Air Force Base, S.C.
Photo Details / Download Hi-Res

The members of the ambulatory team went on to say that the actions and procedures of that day were a result of their training and being able to act in uncontrollable conditions.

Bartlett said that observing all the actions taking place and the flawless execution of the task at hand showed the excellence his troops have in their craft.

“Between Byrom driving, Mr. Reed providing the defibrillation and medicine, and Airman Starr providing the breaths, it was perfect synergy,” said Bartlett.

Working together as one cohesive unit, these Airmen saved the life of one of their own and gave the individual a second chance at life.