Rapid response to deliver baby

Henry Thomas, emergency medical technician (EMT) in the emergency department at UCHealth Memorial Hospital Central, was having a typical morning, that is, until he wasn’t.

Thomas heard commotion and the distinct sounds of a woman in distress echoing through the lobby.

Thomas and two of his EMT colleagues, Matthew Klein and Dalton Eads, rushed to a woman standing, frozen in place, just beyond the front doors of the emergency department.

The woman was in active labor.

“Everybody immediately knew that they had to do something,” Thomas said. “Minimal communication occurred to make it happen, but they all did something huge.”

Thomas ran to grab gloves and quickly returned to the soon-to-be-mother. He talked to her, tried to get an idea of what was going on. He obtained consent from the woman, then did a physical examination to check her progression.

“The baby is coming now,” Thomas determined. “This is happening now. There’s no moving her, changing her, we can’t even reposition her, she could not move.”

Thomas reassured the woman, letting her know she was doing great, and coaching her to breathe.

Within five minutes of hearing the initial commotion, the baby came. Thomas, kneeling beneath the woman, caught the child, slippery from birthing fluids.

Klein was there too, supporting the mom – who was still standing frozen — through the delivery. Eads was close by with a wheelchair for when the new mom was ready.

Thomas said he had no training for delivering a child, though intuitively, he knew what to do. He called for blankets and chuck pads to warm the baby. He checked the umbilical cord and kept the baby’s airway clear. He wanted to hear the baby cry.

Within seconds, the baby cried, the glorious sound of new life.

“That was the best moment … a huge relief,” Thomas said.

Moments later, Dr. Kiel Melkus, an intake physician in the emergency department, sprinted to the new mom. Thomas carefully handed the baby to Melkus, who passed the baby to the mom, who was now seated in a wheelchair. Eads escort the mom and child from the lobby to a room in the emergency department.

The mom and baby were doing great.

Thomas had never seen a child born before, and he credits the team for the successful outcome.

“They were dialed in, everybody,” Thomas said. “They all played crucial roles. … They were all pivotal.”