Ohio 911 Call Center Agent Saves Life of Choking Coworker

People who work in emergency services call centers are familiar with assisting in saving lives, but in some cases, it happens literally. In Trumbull County, Ohio, 911 dispatcher Shana Murphy took a bite of a meal after finishing a dispatch call and realized that the food had become dislodged in her throat. Murphy told local news source The Vindicator that she felt as if the piece of meat went down wrong. She knew immediately that she was choking, as she was unable to clear air past the blockage.

“I sat back in my chair and kept trying to swallow harder to get it to go down and it wouldn’t. I jumped up because I realized I was in trouble,” Murphy said.

Murphy leaped out of her chair, attracting the attention of fellow dispatcher Katelyn Bower, who asked her if she needed assistance in the form of the Heimlich maneuver. Murphy nodded.

“She nodded. I asked if she needed the Heimlich and she nodded again. I proceeded to help her as best as I could,” Bower told The Vindicator.

Bower proceeded to perform the Heimlich maneuver, a life-saving application of compressions of a choking victim’s diaphragm by an individual who stands behind the choking person and wraps their arms around the ribcage. It took two tries, but Bower was finally able to dislodge the blockage from Murphy’s throat.

Murphy told the local news source Murphy that she is grateful to Bower for acting so quickly.

“I thanked her because she did save me,” Murphy said.

Trumbull County dispatch interim director Patty Goldner noted that dispatchers are trained to remain calm during emergencies, so both Bower and Murphy’s professional training helped with a positive resolution to the situation.

“I think that helped her [Bower] know immediately what needed to happen,” Goldner said.

Edited by Luke Bellos