A city of Ocala parking enforcement officer’s quick actions to perform CPR on a man not only saved his life, but could potentially lead to a new AED in downtown.
Heather Miller-Stine, who works as one of the city’s parking enforcement specialists, was conducting her normal patrol through downtown when she spotted a man suffering from a medical episode in the parking garage.
“She saw something that didn’t look right: A gentleman was in his vehicle suffering from an event and she was able to pull him from the vehicle and perform CPR until [Ocala] Fire Rescue showed up,” said City Manager Sandra Wilson. Wilson commended Miller-Stine and a city security officer for their quick actions that saved the man’s life.
In the after action report of the incident, city staff and emergency personnel were made aware of the lack of an automated external defibrillator (AED) in the area.
City staff will now look into possibly installing an AED in the parking garage or nearby.
AEDs have been a topic of constant conversation in nearby The Villages. In May, officials were unhappy about a perceived failure to inform them about an AED blackout that impacted 230 neighborhoods in the area for up to three weeks.
Do you think the city of Ocala should think about installing AEDs at other locations around the city? Share your thoughts with us in a letter to the editor.