Court-Side Heroes

It was about tip-off of the USI Women’s Basketball WNIT second round match up against Campbell University. Liberty Arena, Home of the Screaming Eagles, was beginning to fill up fast. Fans filed into rows to find their seat for the exciting post-season game; the Arena buzzed with excitement.

What many attendees may have missed, however, were the quick actions of USI Public Safety, employees from Tri-State Orthopaedics, Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s officers and others who sprung into action to aid a fan experiencing a medical emergency.

Nathan Devillez, Assistant Director of USI Public Safety, and John Hancock, Public Safety First Shift Officer, were working on the first floor of the Arena on Sunday, March 23 as fans arrived for the game. Suddenly, someone called out to them from the second floor that there had been a person who had collapsed.

Hancock immediately went to the second floor with a medical bag and an automated external defibrillator (AED) to assess the situation. All USI Public Safety officers have EMT or EMR training, and the department strives to continually stay up to date on certifications. USI’s campus houses about 50 AEDs, including one unit in each Public Safety vehicle.

“Every USI Public Safety vehicle is considered a non-transport ambulance, meaning we have all the equipment with us that is needed to work as an EMT in the field,” says Devillez.

A fact that became extremely helpful at Sunday’s game.

After seeing the situation, Hancock called for assistance, and Devillez and Craig Carroll, Vanderburgh County Sheriff Deputy, rushed to the scene. Other on-duty officers in the arena and on campus responded as well.

Nearby, Katelyn Schneider, an Advanced Practice Provider at Tri-State Orthopaedics, who was attending the game with her three children, was talking with Laura Heline, USI’s Head Athletic Trainer, and USI alumna Sydney Burkhart, another Advanced Practice Provider from Tri-State, which partners with USI Athletics. Their conversation was interrupted when they were alerted that a man had collapsed in the stands. Schneider and Kelly immediately sprang into action, offering their assistance.

“In our training to be a physician’s assistant, you actually do different types of rotations. So you actually touch ICU medicine, emergency medicine,” explained Schneider on an appearance of the WIKY Morning Show on Thursday, March 27. “Even just being in orthopedics, we also go through extensive training … to be CPR certified, know how to use the AED machine.”

Together, the group of officers and Tri-State Orthopaedics employees were able to stabilize the man as emergency transport arrived. Their quick work allowed emergency personnel to transport him to a local hospital to be treated—currently, he is in stable condition.

While situations like this aren’t the norm, Devillez says they do show the effectiveness of the training and knowledge of USI Public Safety. It starts with the USI administration, he says, who give their backing to keep Public Safety equipped with the tools and training the department needs to be a successful medical team. More than half of the officers are also volunteer firefighters, which also adds to their experience in emergency situations. USI’s partnership with the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Department is also key in emergency situations, Devillez said. “Their presence in the area and on campus is a big help,” he adds.

“One of the biggest things that Public Safety is proud of is our ability to be EMS ready at any given situation,” Devillez adds. “We can be anywhere on campus in less than three minutes.”

In their interview with the WIKY Morning Show, Schneider also commended the skills and reactions of all those involved in the incident. “I would just like to commend everyone involved with the situation on how calm everyone stayed. It’s a stressful situation, but with the training everyone had, it ran like a top, which is what you want to happen in those scenarios. Everyone did the job they were supposed to which is why I think we got the outcome we did,” she said.

In light of the situation and the good outcome, Devillez reminds all employees that Public Safety offers CPR, AED and Stop the Bleed courses to USI employees. There are both certified and non-certified courses available for CPR and AED instructions.

He also encourages USI employees and students to download Public Safety’s RAVE Guardian app; it is a tool you can use easily from your smartphone to contact Public Safety quickly for assistance.

The group who aided the fan were recognized during half-time of the WNIT Super 16 game between USI Women’s Basketball and University of Buffalo on Thursday, March 27 at Liberty Arena.

Listen to the interview with Devillez and Schneider on the WIKY Morning Show online here!

Thank you to all who helped the individual at Sunday’s game and who continue to keep our campus safe!