When a colleague at Sacramento District headquarters said she wasn\u2019t feeling well,
\nJerilynn Hilmar alerted those nearby, Shelley McCoy stayed close to provide comfort
\nand reassurance, and Elizabeth \u201cEllie\u201d Hayes went downstairs to notify building security
\nand escort first responders back to the scene.<\/p>\n
No cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed and no automated external defibrillator was deployed, but their quick, coordinated response ensured she got the medical attention she needed.<\/p>\n
For that, the three received a commander\u2019s coin from Sacramento District Commander
Col. Robert McTighe on Dec. 8, 2025. They\u2019re grateful for it, though they\u2019re quick to put
it in perspective.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we did was important, but I don\u2019t want it to be overinflated,\u201d Hilmar said. \u201cWhat we did could have saved someone\u2019s life, had it been a life-threatening emergency.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCoy was equally measured. \u201cNone of us went into this expecting a coin or any kind of
recognition,\u201d she said. \u201cYou recognize that there\u2019s a coworker in distress and you take
steps to get her the help she needs. That\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Hilmar, the value of the recognition was less about the coin and more about the
conversation it opened. At the time of the incident, AEDs were available in the building
but not on every floor, and many employees didn\u2019t know where to find them.<\/p>\n
According to the FDA, AEDs are portable, life-saving devices designed to treat people
experiencing sudden cardiac arrest, a condition in which the heart stops beating
suddenly and unexpectedly. The devices analyze heart rhythm and, when appropriate,
deliver an electrical shock to restore it to normal. The FDA also notes that the
combination of CPR and early defibrillation is most effective when used within the first
few minutes following a collapse.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I appreciated about the recognition was the opportunity to get face time with the
commander and reemphasize the need for AEDs in the building,\u201d Hilmar said. \u201cTo me,
that acknowledgment and the immediate action that followed, that\u2019s all I personally
needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
That action came quickly. Curtis Morris, Chief of Safety and Occupational Health, said
the incident prompted leadership to take immediate action, ensuring every floor the
Sacramento District occupies in the building had a device readily available. AEDs are
positioned next to restrooms on each floor and are clearly marked with signage
identifying them as an automated external defibrillator.<\/p>\n
Morris noted that having AEDs on each floor helps resolve access issues, particularly
when an employee responding to an emergency does not have their key card, making it
difficult to move between secured floors. McCoy illustrated what that could look like in
practice. \u201cYou\u2019re racing to go deal with this emergency and you need your key card to
get into all the doors and then all of a sudden you\u2019re trapped in the stairwell,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t get to the AED and you can\u2019t get back up to where it needs to be. And now
you\u2019re useless.\u201d<\/p>\n
For employees who have never used an AED, Morris offered straightforward
reassurance that no prior training is required to operate one.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t actually need training to use it,\u201d Morris said. \u201cIt talks you through everything.\u201d
The devices provide audible, step-by-step instructions and will not activate if a heartbeat
is detected. Morris noted the devices are intended for cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n
His first recommendation in any emergency is to call 911 before reaching for the AED.
\u201cMake sure you call 911 first,\u201d Morris said. \u201cThen you can grab the AED.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCPR training definitely played a huge role in my involvement,\u201d McCoy said. She had
positioned herself nearby in case chest compressions became necessary. CPR is
physically demanding, and having more than one trained person available to rotate in
can make a real difference, she added.<\/p>\n
Hilmar also cited the importance of knowing how to call 911 effectively. In a previous
career, she called for emergency services often enough to develop a consistent script.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you call on a cell phone, they don\u2019t know where you are,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to
get to the point. The person you\u2019re talking to is not the one dispatching first responders.
They need to know what jurisdiction to route you to first.\u201d<\/p>\n
Panic has a way of making people over-explain, she said. A practiced, direct approach
can save minutes. In some emergencies, those minutes are the difference.<\/p>\n
What Hilmar and McCoy want most is for their colleagues to know where the AEDs are,
pursue CPR and basic emergency response training, and think through the steps before
they need them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s easy to come to work, get into a routine and forget that these things happen,\u201d
Hilmar said. \u201cPeople should know what to do without thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Hilmar and McCoy encouraged colleagues to take advantage of the training,
saying the recent experience left them personally motivated to stay current. \u201cEverybody
needs to go through it,\u201d McCoy said, \u201cif only to recognize an emergency and get help if
they\u2019re not comfortable performing CPR.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Hayes, the incident reinforced her appreciation for the people around her. \u201cI think we have some really spectacular people who work here,\u201d Hayes said, singling out the
security office for its quick response. \u201cHow quickly they responded. I was very
impressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
For those looking to build their own readiness, the district offers a practical starting
point. \u201cEvery quarter we have a first aid, CPR, AED class. We offer it every quarter in
the building,\u201d Morris said. The training, he confirmed, was available before the incident
and continues to be offered to all staff.<\/p>\n
The district safety office also encourages employees to look into additional resources if
they want to get CPR, AED and Standard First Aid certified before the next scheduled
class. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When a colleague at Sacramento District headquarters said she wasn\u2019t feeling well, Jerilynn Hilmar alerted those nearby, Shelley…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-375202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}