The Star of Life Award for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Great Lakes and Ohio River Division was presented to four individuals at Brookville Lake, Brookville, Indiana, for their quick actions in preventing the serious injury or fatality of a visitor to the lake.
On an August morning, David Johnstone, park manager, observed on security cameras a group of visitors walking up a steep slope. When he noticed one member of the group lagging behind and showing signs of distress, Johnstone telephoned Park Ranger Stephanie Ison, who was able to go directly to the scene.
Volunteer David Stutzman, a Corps retiree and local EMS driver, used his EMS radio to dispatch emergency responders.
When Ison reached the scene, she learned from the visibly ill man’s companions that he was diabetic and, having been without food and drink for quite a while, was suffering from low blood sugar.
Ison, a trained First Aid/CPR/AED instructor, provided the man with bottled water from the park ranger truck and called Johnstone, who brought her the apple from her packed lunch to help raise the man’s blood sugar.
Chris Bass, maintenance mechanic, also trained in First Aid/CPR/AED, assisted with crowd control and traffic pattern flow, securing a safe scene for the responders.
When EMS arrived and performed vital checks, the man was markedly improved and declined transport in the ambulance. Ison helped him to his vehicle.
“This successful rescue was an excellent example of great teamwork and having the right equipment and the right training and a quick acting staff to prevent a potential severe injury or fatality to our visiting customers,” said Steven Lee, Miami River Area operations manager. “Our Brookville team did an excellent job in responding to this emergency.”
Johnstone, Stutzman, Ison and Bass were awarded the Star of Life by Col. Luke Leonard, Louisville District commander during a visit to the lake.