No textbook could prepare Charles E. Gorton High School senior Oscar Arias for the real-life lesson that he learned during a ride-along with Empress Emergency Medical Service. The Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) student helped care for a mother and child after an unexpected home birth.
“I was really excited,” Oscar recalled. “I thought to myself, ‘Oh my gosh! Is this really happening?’ I wasn’t nervous. I knew what to do, so I acted.”
Oscar shadowed an Empress Ambulance crew in White Plains during a day shift, Wednesday, November 11. After first transporting a man with chest pains to the hospital, they received an emergency call for a pregnant woman. When Oscar and the two-member EMS team arrived at a seventh-floor apartment, they found a woman in distress in a bedroom. She had already given birth, and her newborn baby boy was near her on the floor.
“The baby was crying loudly,” Oscar said. “My partner picked up the baby and told me to get the OB (obstetrical) kit. The baby had just been born, so it was still attached to the mother. I applied the two clamps and I cut the umbilical cord.”
Gorton High School Principal Jamie Morales was riveted by Oscar’s recounting of the surprise delivery.
“The lesson here for our EMT students is: Expect the unexpected,” Morales said.
Cutting the umbilical cord was just the first step. Oscar told responding police officers to find a blanket for the baby. He then helped transport the upset mother out of her apartment. In the ambulance, the woman was extremely nervous.
“I reassured her,” Oscar said. “I told her that she did well and her baby was fine. I urged her to focus on getting better, so she could take care of her new son. I knew she was distressed, so I asked her to breathe with me.”
Oscar is in training to become an EMT. He plans to continue his studies to become a paramedic and hopes to attend medical school so he can work as an emergency room physician.
The EMT program at Gorton High School is offered through the school’s P-TECH (Pathways in Technology Early College High School) and Academy of Medical Professions programs in partnership with Empress EMS and Westchester Community College (WCC).
Students can complete EMT ride-alongs and earn their EMT-B (Emergency Medical Technician- Basic) certification prior to high school graduation. Through the P-TECH and Smart Scholars programs, students can earn transferable college credits and have the opportunity to pursue an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree in Paramedics at WCC at no cost to families.