(Photo courtesy KPD: Kaua‘i Police Chief Todd G. Raybuck with Emergency Services Dispatcher Deborah Carvalho (center) and Communication Section Sgt. Stacy Perreira. Not pictured is Donn Taniguchi.)
By Staff Reports
(LĪHU‘E) – The Kaua‘i Police Department (KPD) recognized two Employees of the Month in December 2019.
Emergency Services Dispatchers Deborah Carvalho and Donn Taniguchi were honored for being instrumental in helping a caller with the delivery of a baby during the early morning hours of Sept. 9, 2019.
A man called 911 to report that his wife was in labor and delivering their child around 2:30 a.m. The caller reported that the baby’s head was crowning and within a few minutes, the baby was delivered.
Taniguchi kept composure while walking the caller through the process of wrapping the baby in a towel and ensuring that the baby was crying while the husband and wife waited for medics to arrive.
“The entire process took less than two minutes from the call to the delivery,” said KPD’s Communication Section Sgt. Stacy Perreira. “Donn was extremely professional in handling this rare situation and although the baby’s delivery was fast, he provided a calm voice in the middle of a critical situation. Deborah was also instrumental in that she provided fire and medical personnel with up-to-date information as the birthing process took place.”
Kaua‘i Fire Department personnel arrived on scene within minutes of the call and the baby and mother were deemed healthy.