Osage Beach, Mo. — The Communications Department is a vital link between the emergency caller and Law Enforcement, Ambulance personnel and the Fire Department. Lake area communications personnel have personally witnessed, a non-eventful incident can turn into an emergency at any second. Every time the phone rings, there is the potential of an emergency situation needing immediate and appropriate response. Communications is an exciting and important position that requires focus.
On the morning of Sept. 11, Laura McDonald, Lead Communications Officers, answered a 911 call to find a pregnant female caller on the other end. The caller, Caran Shen, was alone and in labor. McDonald calmed Shen while she obtained the required information for emergency responders. McDonald entered the necessary information into a Computer Aided Dispatch program, which allowed the other Communications Officer, Sheila Owens, to dispatch the emergency responders to the Shen residence.
While medical, fire and Law Enforcement personnel were responding, McDonald verbally assisted Shen and a family friend and employee of Dr. Shen, Tina Floyd, and together they successfully delivered a healthy baby girl, Sierra Marie Shen, 8 pounds 2 oz. This is Dr. Mark and Caran Shen’s second child.
Shen believed she was in the beginning stages of labor at about 8:30 a.m. Floyd was scheduled to pick up Shen and bring her to husband’s office later in the day so they could go to the delivery room together. At approximately 10:30 am, Caran knew she was going to the hospital sooner than planned. Dr. Shen still had patients and asked Ms. Floyd to go ahead and pick Shen up, but Shen’s contractions greatly intensified and were within a minute apart.
“Having someone talk through giving birth while at the bottom of my stairs was comforting even though it probably didn’t seem that way at the time,” Shen said. “The dispatcher was very professional and nice. While we were on the phone with the dispatcher, Tina delivered the baby.”
“When I called to check on her, she said that her contractions were at about 2 minutes apart. I told Dr. Shen that I was leaving to pick up Caran,” Floyd said. When she arrived at the Shen home, Floyd discovered that Caran was minutes from giving birth. She stated that she was holding Sierra as the police, fire department and ambulance arrived.
Floyd called Dr. Mark Shen from inside the ambulance and told him that his wife and Sierra would meet him at the hospital. “When Dr. Shen arrived at the hospital I think it took a few moments for him to realize that his wife had given birth at home,” Floyd said.
Republished with permission from LakeNewsOnline.com