Cherokee County
Fire & Emergency Services
Fire & Emergency Services
The Georgia Emergency Medical Services Association (GEMSA) announced its 2021 award winners at an awards reception on Sunday, March 27, 2022 at 7:00 pm at Peachtree Pointe at Lake Lanier in Buford, GA. GEMSA award finalists, members, and guests were in attendance for the announcement of the winners. GEMSA would like to congratulate all the finalists and winners on their achievements. Thirteen Cherokee County Firefighters were recognized for two of the statewide awards that were presented at the event.
The Tim Peebles Champion of Children Excellence and Advocacy Award was presented to Manny Zapeta, Jacob Gunter, and Christopher Ginn with Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services
After a tragic pediatric death in an elementary school, Capt. Chris Ginn, Sgt. Manuel Zapeta, and Sgt. Jacob Gunter were determined to do everything they could to prevent similar incidents at schools in the future. These three compiled a detailed plan to deliver CPR to the teachers within the school district. The plan included: estimated costs, material, time investment, and material needs in order to receive authorization to initiate a CPR/AED/First Aid training blitz to target elementary school staff. With the support of the department and the school district, they were able to move forward with the initiative.
Since then, these three have led a CPR advocacy campaign and trained hundreds of teachers and other staff. This training paid off in the summer of 2021 when a 5‐year‐old was tragically found in cardiac arrest. The CPR trained staff recognized the sudden cardiac arrest, began compressions, called for the AED, and delivered a shock just as they were trained to do. Upon arrival of EMS, the patient was awake and crying for his parents. He was transported to a children’s hospital for evaluation and was back in school about a week later with no neurological deficits. This outstanding outcome was possible because of the advocacy and training they received. These individuals at Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services continue to train school personnel in CPR and first aid and are greatly improving the safety of the children in their community.
This award, sponsored by Air Life Georgia, is dedicated to the memory of Captain Tim Peebles, who was a career long advocate for providing quality pre‐hospital care for all, and more especially for preventing injury and illness in children. This award will be presented to a group or individual who through their ideas, actions, and goals to carry on and reinforce the high benchmarks established by Captain Peebles.
The Mary Beth Bowns Excellence in Trauma Care Award was presented to Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services, including: Ross Young, William Armstrong, Nicholas Spain, Deombre Jones, Denver Ice, Samuel Lackender, Ethan Sanders, Chris Roberts, Jamie McCord, and Tyler Russell.
In the Fall of 2021, Engine 19 in Cherokee County responded to a “person hit by auto.” The patient had been struck by a vehicle and was wedged in a manhole gutter. Engine 19 and Truck 1 began assessing the patient and giving medication for pain. Airbags were used to lift the concrete manhole off the patient. While on scene and enroute to the hospital, the patient received many interventions, including bilateral chest decompression, medications, pressure dressings, and immobilization. His multiple injuries included complex pelvic fractures and bilateral pneumothorax. Upon arrival to the Level II trauma center, the patient was received by the trauma team. Over the course of several days, the patient had multiple surgeries to repair his injuries. The patient continued to recover and did well with physical therapy. The prompt response, assessment, extrication, and treatment at the scene significantly impacted the outcome of this patient. Multiple people were on scene to help manage the scene and the patient, including the individuals named as the winners of this award.
The purpose of the Mary Beth Bowns Excellence in Trauma Care Award is to reward an individual or organization in the State of Georgia for their outstanding delivery of care to a critically injured patient(s).
Congratulations to all for a job well done