Roane State adjunct professor Jason Fox, right, is pictured with Capt. Joseph Cate, also with the Morristown-Hamblen EMS, as they receive the statewide “Star of Life” award for reviving an infant. (Photo by Roane State)
By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
A Roane State Community College adjunct instructor at the college’s Knox County Center for Health Sciences put his extensive training to use to save the life of a just born, premature infant who had stopped breathing and had no pulse.
For his actions, which he said were a “combination of training, instinct and a miracle,” Jason Fox received a statewide award titled the “Star of Life.”
Fox, who has been with Roane State for a year, is also a lieutenant with the Morristown-Hamblen EMS. He is credited, along with Morristown-Hamblen County EMS’ Captain Joseph Cate, for reviving the infant—who was three months premature when he was born at home.
“We asked what the baby’s name was and told her (mother Kellie Henrikson) that we would do everything in our power to save his life,” Fox said. The EMS professionals used cardiopulmonary resuscitation to revive Tanner Enix after the infant hadn’t been breathing for 11 minutes.
“We did our work, we did our training and we left it to a higher power for the finer workings of it,” Fox said. The incident occurred late last July.
Today, the infant shows no signs of “neuro-deficits” and made a full recovery, according to the Tennessee Emergency Medical Services for Children (TN EMSC) organization.
For their lifesaving effort, Fox and Cate and the Morristown-Hamblen EMS were awarded the Dr. Michael Carr Tennessee EMSC State Star of Life Award during a ceremony last month in Nashville.
The award, now in its ninth year, honors prehospital medical care providers for lifesaving actions, an EMSC spokeswoman said.
“Jason has brought exceptional work ethic from the field into the classroom to inspire the next generation of EMS professionals,” said David S. Blevins, the director of EMS education for Roane State.
To learn more about Roane State’s EMT and paramedic programs, visit roanestate.edu/ems or contact David Blevins at (865) 354-3000, ext. 4768, or blevinsds@roanestate.edu.
This press release and photo were submitted by Owen Driskill.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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