School Bus Driver Honored for Using CPR Training to Save 1-Year-Old

Katrina Self of Ohio is recognized with a plaque for putting her training to good use by reviving the child of a parent on her route.

Nicole Schlosser・Former Executive Editor

February 12, 2020

School Bus Driver Honored for Using CPR Training to Save 1-Year-Old — Katrina Self, a bus driver for Washington Court House City Schools, was recognized with a plaque for putting her training to good use by reviving the child of a parent on her route. Photo courtesy Trevor Patton

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Katrina Self, a bus driver for Washington Court House City Schools, was recognized with a plaque for putting her training to good use by reviving the child of a parent on her route. Photo courtesy Trevor Patton

WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — A school bus driver here was honored on Monday for putting her CPR training to good use recently when she revived the child of a parent on her route.

On Friday morning, Katrina Self, a school bus driver for Washington Court House City Schools, pulled up to one of the bus stops on her route when the mother of a 1-year-old girl asked her for help because her child wasn’t breathing, Trevor Patton, the director of marketing and communications for the school district, told School Bus Fleet.

Self immediately took action, Patton said. She had a substitute driver, who was also on the bus to learn the route, get into the driver’s seat while she left the bus to help the mother. Self called 911 and started administering CPR, giving the child multiple chest compressions and air. Soon after, the girl began breathing again, and Self rubbed her body while she suffered a seizure and waited for assistance to arrive, Patton said.

Self said of her CPR training, according to WCMH, that she thought that if she ever had to use it, she would forget how. However, she added that “It just kicked in when I saw that baby. She was lifeless.”

School bus drivers in the state are not required to know CPR, but the district trains all of its drivers using an eight-hour course on CPR and first aid, which they must pass to be allowed to drive for the district, Patton said. The training includes refresher classes every three years and is paid for by the district.

Patton noted that the district rarely has two drivers aboard the bus and that all the other schools aside from those in the Washington Court House City Schools were closed on the day of the incident.

“We were very thankful for Katrina, her knowledge, and quick action,” Patton said.

Self was honored at the district’s board of education meeting on Monday evening for her heroic act, Patton said. Tom Bailey, the superintendent for Washington Court House City Schools, presented her with a plaque. Self told the district in the meeting "I love my job. I love my kids."

Topics:driver training first aid/CPR Ohio Management Safety

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