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Hydro Heroes Quick to Act in Medical Emergency
05/08/2019
With heavy rain pouring into Lake Hamilton and Lake Catherine the night of March 24, Entergy Arkansas employees Nathan Huffman and Darren Heard were inspecting Remmel and Carpenter dams to make sure all was well. The dams were fine, but not all was well.
Huffman and Heard, who both work in hydro operations as maintenance operators, were completing their rounds at Carpenter Dam at 10:20 p.m. when Huffman noticed a woman in distress on her phone in a parking area below the dam. He stopped to see if he could help and found a man in a pickup sweating and saying his head was hurting. Huffman took over the panicking woman's phone conversation and provided useful information to the 911 operator as he signaled to Heard to join him. When Heard arrived a moment later, the man was unconscious.
While most Entergy operations employees are trained in first aid and CPR, Heard happens to be a certified respiratory therapist, a carry-over from a previous career before he joined Entergy two years ago. No stranger to medical emergencies, Huffman immediately checked for a pulse and did not find one. He and Heard moved the man from the pickup to the ground and began chest compressions in the rain. About five minutes later a police officer arrived, then an ambulance a few minutes after that.
"I told them how proud I was, and that Lake Catherine was fortunate to have them working for us," said the men's supervisor, Nathan Goodman, Lake Catherine plant supervisor. "You never know when you're going to be faced with an emergency. It's good for our employees and our customers that Entergy emphasizes being prepared."
During North American Occupational Safety and Health Week, we're recognizing the efforts and commitment of safety and health professionals whose contributions each day engage co-workers in safe practices and work to include safety in the very design of each work activity.
