EMS CREDITED WITH SAVING LIFE OF CARDIAC ARREST VICTIM

  

The work of Washington County EMS on May 13, 2021 helped save the life of a local resident.

During today’s (Tuesday) Washington County Commissioners meeting, EMS Director Kevin Deramus detailed the events involved in saving the life of cardiac arrest victim Carol Leiber.  Deramus praised the efforts of E-911 dispatchers and EMS personnel who responded to the scene, as well as Eric LeBlanc, who performed bystander CPR on Leiber for 8 minutes until EMS arrived on scene.

Deramus played audio from the 911 call to demonstrate the processes involved with an emergency response, from when the call is received, to beginning CPR, to dispatching first responders.  In Leiber’s case, dispatchers obtained address information and instructed LeBlanc to begin CPR in 52 seconds; Deramus said seven years ago, it would have taken three or four minutes to begin CPR, a 70 percent difference.

According to Deramus, EMS had an 8 minute response time, as they were heading to a property on Tommelson Creek Road, north of Brenham in an area without any remote EMS station.  Both EMS air and ground ambulance were dispatched simultaneously.  After being transported, Leiber left the hospital after two days.

Leiber and LeBlanc were at today’s meeting to thank EMS for the work they did.  They were also presented a survivor’s pin and a hero pin.

Commissioner Kirk Hanath said public safety is a partnership, adding that, “It can’t just be ‘me’ or ‘I’, it’s ‘we’.”  Talking to the first responders in attendance, he said, “You put a face to what these people do every day.”

Also at today’s meeting, commissioners:

• Appointed Washington County Chief Appraiser Dyann White to calculate a no-new-revenue tax rate and voter-approval tax rate.
• Heard monthly reports from the Sheriff’s Office, EMS, E-911, IT, and the veterans service office.