Providing Care: Senior Airman Taryn Summers

Published Feb. 5, 2014
By Senior Airman Shandresha Mitchell
6th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs

TAMPA, Fla. -- U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Novak, United States Special Operations Command, lay in the middle of the road waiting for care after his motorcycle had collided into a car early Tuesday morning outside of the Dale Mabry gate of MacDill Air Force Base.

Senior Airman Taryn Summers, 91st Air Refueling Squadron, arrived on the scene unaware of the events that had taken place only a few moments earlier but was ready to provide care.

"When I parked my car, he was surrounded by a group of elderly women who were trying to provide care; I immediately made them aware that I was a certified EMT and took charge of the situation," commented Summers.

Novak commented he was suffering from pain in his legs; however, Summers wanted to verify this was the only thing he was suffering from.

"I conducted a blood sweep and checked him for broken bones," stated Summers. "I discovered that his femur may be broken and that his ankle was bruised and swollen."

Lt. Col. Richard Briscoe, United States Central Command, arrived on the scene and assessed the situation.

"Senior Airman Summers was in charge of the situation. Tampa police and medical were still en route, but Senior Airman Summers had triaged the man for wounds, and directed a civilian to keep the man's head and neck stable," commented Briscoe. "When I asked if anyone had performed Self Aid and Buddy Care, she mentioned that she had and that she was also an EMT. Since she was doing great as the first-responder, I turned my attention to directing traffic and ensuring the scene was as safe as possible."

Briscoe mentioned to Summers how lucky the victim was she took the initiative to get advanced medical training, and thought to himself how glad he was that she was in our Air Force.

"I was impressed with how calm and confident she was during the entire event," stated Briscoe.

When the medics arrived, Summers relayed her exam findings, and they deduced to the same conclusion as Summers, commenting Novak's injury was in fact a broken femur.

"This is the first time I have taken on a real-life trauma situation alone," stated Summers.

"I usually work with a team or a class on medical emergency scenarios."

Summers has no military medical background. She works as an executive assistant at the 91st ARS; and prior to this assignment, she was an executive assistant at the 6th Operations Support Squadron.

The flame that pushed Summers to take an emergency medical technician course at Hillsborough Community College was her two small children.

"My two children are daredevils; so when my oldest son, Bradley, broke his arm I panicked as a mom and the training I received from the military went out the window," commented Summers. "I didn't want that to happen again; so about a week later I enrolled into a 16-week EMT course."

Summers efforts did not go unrecognized; Col. Scott DeThomas, 6th Air Mobility Wing commander, coined Summers for the services she provided to Novak.

Summers stated, "To be completely honest the recognition is a bit overwhelming. I only really did what I was trained to do."