June
16, 2004
Lincoln
Hails Public Safety Officer for Saving Life of Housekeeping
Employee after She had Collapsed and Stopped Breathing on
June 8
Corporal Barry Gober, a trained Emergency Medical Technician,
Receives Commendation
Lincoln
University Public Safety Corporal Barry Gober (center),
of Darby Township, PA, is presented with a Certificate of
Merit for saving the life of a housekeeping employee on
June 8, 2004, after she had collapsed on the floor and stopped
breathing. Using advanced techniques that he has learned
through his experience as an Emergency Medical Technician
(EMT), Corporal Gober was able to apply external pressure
to the employee's airway and restore her breathing. Making
the presentation (L-R) are: University Vice President for
Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Dr. William B.
Bynum, Jr., and Captain James A. Connor; Assistant Director
of Public Safety.
Lincoln
University, PA —What is a hero? Is it someone who
has a big "S" on his chest and possesses superhuman
powers? Or, is it just selfless, everyday people who instinctively
help wherever and whenever they can and let others hail
them as heroes?
On
the morning of Tuesday, June 8, Lincoln University Public
Safety Corporal Barry Gober, of Darby Township, PA, was
validated as a true hero. At 8:06 a.m., the University Department
of Public Safety received a call of a medical emergency
on the third floor of the Thurgood Marshall Living and Learning
Center on the campus in southern Chester County, PA. Florimar
Padillo, an employee with the Housekeeping Department, had
collapsed on the floor and stopped breathing.
The
best efforts of other officers failed to restore her breathing.
Despite the fact that Corporal Gober's regularly scheduled
shift had ended (he works from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.), he responded
to the scene to render assistance. Using advanced techniques
that he has learned through his experience as an Emergency
Medical Technician (EMT), Corporal Gober was able to apply
external pressure to Ms. Padillo’s airway and restore
her breathing.
His
quick and trained actions in all probability saved Ms. Padillo’s
life and at the very least saved her from brain damage due
to lack of oxygen. For his dedicated actions, the University
has presented Corporal Gober with a Certificate of Merit
and a letter of Commendation for Meritorious Service.
"In
addition to the obvious fact that a human life was saved,
your actions also reflected positively on you and the entire
Public Safety Department. Your training, expertise and dedication
to duty, as reflected by this incident, are in the finest
traditions of the Law Enforcement profession, and you are
truly deserving of the attached commendation for Meritorious
Service,'' the letter states.
True
to his self-effacing nature, Corporal Gober, who has worked
at the University since September 2003, says that he simply
helped out in the medical emergency and applied his professional
training.
The
certificate and letter of commendation were presented today
to Corporal Gober on behalf of University President Ivory
V. Nelson, Ph.D., by University Vice President for Student
Affairs and Enrollment Management Dr. William B. Bynum,
Jr.; Public Safety Director Larry J. Woods; Captain James
A. Connor; Assistant Director of Public Safety; and Captain
Ruth A. Evans-Waller, Assistant Director of Public Safety.
