News  Springfield Community Justice Support Center and Court employees aid man in distress who collapsed in front of building

Program Manager Meghan McBride was at the center working on a project and Idaliz Alicea, a ​new Specialty Court Program Coordinator and member of the Holyoke Drug Treatment Court Team, was visiting the center for the first time to learn more about the services offered there. Mrs. McBride and Ms. Alicea, who had not met previously, became sudden heroes when they saved a man who was in distress and collapsed in front of the Support Center located at 165 Liberty Street.

It was 11 am on a recent Thursday when a staff member came into the Support Center to inform Mrs. McBride that a man was found "unresponsive" in the parking lot. When she exited the building, she found an unidentified woman kneeling next to the man. The man, who will not be publicly identified, was not a client at the center.

"We called 911 and I could see that he was ghostly pale. He had no color in his lips or body. We then got AED (defibrillator) and Narcan. We administered the Narcan and then a second dose of Narcan. He was not breathing on his own. He had random gasps of breath. After many rounds of CPR, the emergency personnel responded. Once he was stable enough, he was placed in the ambulance," Mrs. McBride said.

A woman driving through the intersection stopped and identified herself as off-duty medical personnel and asked if Mrs. McBride and Ms. Alicea needed help. Mrs. McBride asked her for a CPR face mask and the woman "grabbed one from her car," according to Mrs. McBride.

They did not get the woman's name. Mrs. McBride and Ms. Alicea began CPR -- alternating doing chest compressions and rescue breaths. Ms. Alicea is currently a member of the Air Force Reserve. Her title is Aeromedical Evacuation Technician or Medical Technician and she is also a certified EMT as well as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN).

After several rounds of CPR, the man came to. As he was taken away by ambulance, Mrs. McBride said he was talking and the color was slowly coming back to his face and body.

"This is a really remarkable effort by Program Manager Meghan McBride and Specialty Court Program Coordinator Idaliz Alicea who revived a man through CPR and AED efforts until the ambulance arrived. Great work from Meghan and Idaliz for their fast and expert response," said Michael Coelho, Massachusetts Deputy Commissioner of Probation-Programs Division.

Both Mrs. McBride, trained in CPR and a first responder for over 20 years, and Ms. Alicea, an Air Force Aeromedical Evacuation Technician and LPN, were well prepared to respond to an incident like this.

"I've been trained for incidents like this in the roles I've had in the criminal justice system," said Mrs. McBride.

Ms. Alicea added, "I just happened to be at the right place at the right time and am truly grateful that he was able to survive."

“When you talk about strong community, people like Meghan and Idaliz are what come to mind. People that jump into action to help others under difficult circumstances. Whether it is an urgent emergency like an overdose or a chronic emergency like the opioid epidemic, Meghan and Idaliz are the kind of people that want to make a difference and help others. I am thankful to work with them in the Massachusetts Probation Service,” said Vincent Lorenti, Director of the Office of Community Corrections (OCC).

The Office of Community Corrections is the administrative office of the Community Justice Support Centers of which there are 17 across the state with two in development in Haverhill and Lynn.