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Some high praise for 'the stork'

A paramedic and two EMTs share honors for delivering on the job.

By LORRI HELFAND, Times Staff Writer
Published January 23, 2008

Largo paramedic Joe Turner plays with his 1-year-old son Rylan before he and EMTs Greg Albert, center, and Bob Hightower, left, were honored at Tuesday night's City Commission meeting.
	[Jim Damaske | Times]

The call came in a little before 8 a.m. on a Monday. A very pregnant woman was having contractions and needed help.

Right away.

It seemed pretty routine to Largo paramedic Joe Turner, who has been with Largo Fire Rescue for 8 1/2 years. Most times, rescuers calm first-time parents' frayed nerves or prepare mothers-to-be for a safe trip to the hospital.

But this time, just minutes after Turner and emergency medical technicians Bob Hightower and Greg Albert arrived, they helped deliver a healthy baby boy.

Good thing Turner, 41, had practice. About a year ago, he delivered his own son, Rylan James, at a Morton Plant Hospital with a doctor by his side. His wife, Julie, wanted Rylan's dad to be the first to touch him.

The delivery on Dec. 17 marked the 50th baby delivered by Largo Fire Rescue since it started keeping count in the early 1980s. A plaque honoring the Stork Club - firefighters who have delivered babies - is on display at City Hall near fire administration offices.

Turner, Hightower and Albert were honored at a City Commission meeting Tuesday night. Turner brought his own son for the ceremony, but the baby boy he helped deliver was not there. City officials said it would have violated federal medical privacy laws to reveal the identity of the mom or baby.

Many firefighters don't realize how big a deal these deliveries are until their careers wind to a close, Fire Chief Mike Wallace said before the meeting.

"More often than not our paramedics and firefighters deal with the traumatic side of life," Wallace said. "They need to understand how rare these good events are."

When Turner's crew arrived at her home, the woman was lying in bed. A couple minutes later, she told rescue workers that her water broke. Turner thought they would still have plenty of time to get her to the hospital. After all, his wife didn't give birth until about 17 hours after her water broke.

But only five minutes later, just as the crew was getting ready to transport the woman, she told them she felt like she wanted to push.

"Nope," Turner recalled crew members saying. "Don't push."

Too late.

They could already see the baby's head.

She pushed.

Turner suctioned the baby's nose.

She pushed again.

Turner "caught" the baby boy, then helped clip the umbilical cord.

The newborn wailed.

"It's very emotional," Turner said. "You help the mom bring a whole new life in the world."

The crew put a tiny cap on the infant's head and wrapped him in blankets.

Turner rode with the mom to the hospital.

"She was thrilled," Turner said. "The father was elated."

A bit later, Turner called his wife, Julie, to share the news.

"Something pretty cool happened today," he said.

"At least you delivered ours first," she told him.

Stormwater fees could increase 25 percent

City commissioners Tuesday night gave their unanimous initial approval to a 25 percent increase in stormwater fees. As proposed, monthly rates for most residential customers would increase from $3.57 to $4.45. The increase would cover increased costs to treat stormwater and various capital improvement projects. The city last raised the fee in October 2004. A public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 5.

Crematory loses appeal to build near homes

A Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court panel has upheld the city's decision to reject plans for what would have been one of the county's largest crematories at Serenity Gardens Memorial Park. In October 2006, the Largo City Commission denied Serenity Gardens' request to build the 13,177-square-foot facility about 100 feet from nearby homes. The following month, Serenity Gardens' owner, SCI Funeral Services of Florida, filed a suit challenging the determination. On Jan. 15, the three-judge panel said there is "competent substantial evidence in the record to support the city's finding that the proposed crematorium was incompatible with the surrounding community." City Attorney Alan Zimmet said he was confident the city was going to be successful because the nature of the appeal meant that the panel could not reanalyze the evidence or substitute its judgment for the city's. SCI's attorney, Ed Armstrong, said his client does not intend to appeal the matter. "We're obviously disappointed in the decision," he said, "but its time to move on."

[Last modified January 22, 2008, 23:02:54]