Six Union County Jail staff members receive award after saving man’s life
Six jail staff members were presented with the Union County Lifesavers Award earlier this week for saving a man’s life in August, the Union County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Friday.
Detention officers saw an unconscious man in a hallway just outside of the county’s magistrate office Aug. 27 while they were releasing another man from custody, the sheriff’s office said.
His skin was blue and he wasn’t breathing, so they lowered him to the ground and began CPR, the sheriff’s office said. They called 911 and realized based on his symptoms the man had overdosed, so they gave him Narcan. Narcan is a medication that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.
The man began breathing again and regained consciousness, the sheriff’s office said. Officers learned that he had been released from custody that same day, shortly before overdosing.
“The quick thinking and willingness to act demonstrated by our officers and the medical team onsite is the reason this man is alive today,” Sheriff Eddie Cathey said in a statement. “I am glad that our officers and medical staff were in the right place at the right time and were properly trained to identify this medical emergency and to render aid which ultimately saved this man’s life.”
Five detention center officers and one nurse were recognized, they are: Sgt. A. Xavier, Sgt. K. Martin, Detention Officers Marquavius Mcgriff, Katelyn Gaughran, and Greyson Godwin, and Union County Public Health Nurse Frank Speer.
