COVINGTON (WGNO) — The award is called the Great Save, and it’s given out by Lakeview Regional Medical Center in Covington. The latest recipient is the paramedic team that hoped to transport a woman in labor to the hospital but ended up delivering her baby in their ambulance.
It happened on August 17 when the Lacombe EMS crew from St. Tammany Fire District No. 3 responded to the call of a woman in labor. It’s not an unusual call, and normal protocol generally consists of taking the woman to the hospital.
But this case was different. EMS Captain Mike Guillot assessed the woman’s condition and decided the safer call would be helping the woman deliver the baby in the ambulance.
After the child was delivered, mother and baby were taken to Lakeview Regional. The mom, Chermaine Laurent, her husband Chris, and the couple’s growing family also attended the award ceremony for the paramedics.
The Great Save award recognizes first EMS, police, and fire fighters for the work they do in the community.