A Centre County 911 dispatcher was honored Tuesday for helping a mother and father through the late-night roadside delivery of their baby earlier this month.
Keara Tice received a stork pin and citation at the Board of Commissioners meeting, where she also got to meet Everly, the baby she helped deliver over the phone, along with the infant girl’s parents, Braden and Lauren, and sister, Adeline.
Tice, who is less than two years on the job, and her co-workers were just beginning to wind down from a busy Saturday night on the first Penn State home football weekend of the year when the call came in at about 3 a.m. on Sept. 8 for a childbirth at exit 163 on Interstate 80.
Quickly discerning that the parents would not be able to make it to a hospital or have an ambulance get to them in time, Tice guided the parents over the phone with instructions for a healthy birth.
“Honestly, it was crazy,” Tice said. “The more seniority employees talk about their experiences and just to have it before I even hit my two-year mark is insane.”
Centre County Emergency Communications Director Norm Spackman said assisting with a delivery is “not an everyday occurrence in Centre County 911,” but that all dispatchers are trained and certified to handle such an event.
“Some dispatchers never assist with childbirth in their entire career. Keara is fortunate to experience this early in her career at 911,” Spackman said. “Also, 911 dispatchers do not get closure on many incidents and rarely get the opportunity to meet our callers, but today we’re able to bring Keara and the family together to meet in person and celebrate the life that Keara helped bring into this world.”
Often in calls when a mother is in labor while in a vehicle, dispatchers “can normally instruct them to drive closer to an ambulance to meet them somewhere,” midnight supervisor Trevor Harris said.
“In this case the child was coming and we did not have time for that, so we had to start our delivery instructions right along the interstate,” Harris said. “I’ve been here for eight years and have witnessed some childbirths. Usually they’re very fast and have already been delivered by the time the 911 call comes in. Keara got to go through the whole birthing process and it was a very successful call.”
It was a joyful moment for all of the 911 staff on duty.
“It was a very good mood to have that night,” Harris said. “We’re dealing with so much bad in our job and sad events that happen, and then randomly at three o’clock in the morning something so amazing happens. We did a good job. The family did an amazing job.”
The commissioners commended Tice, her colleagues and the family for their composure in successfully delivering baby Everly.
“This stands as a real honor and badge for [Tice] and everybody in your office,” Commissioner Steve Dershem said. “But you stand as a testament to the training and the things we represent… This is a tradition of helping and serving the citizens of Centre County that goes back generations.”
