Lisbon Highway Patrol sergeant awarded for life-saving actions

SOUTHINGTON -- Ohio State Highway Patrol Sergeant Stephen Murphy, of the Lisbon post, received the Distinguished Service Medallion award for his life-saving actions at the Patrol's Warren District headquarters last week.

Murphy said by email he is "truly humbled and honored to receive the Distinguished Service Medallion." He is currently busy in Columbus with a new training.

Murphy used his prior experience as a paramedic to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) on a man experiencing heart issues, helping emergency medical services (EMS) when the man went into cardiac arrest on Nov. 11, 2023, according to a press release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

"'Once a medic, always a medic' is a quote used by anyone who has ever worked in the field" of EMS, Murphy said.

On Nov. 11, 2023, the Lisbon Dispatch Center received a call from the man's wife, who said he was having heart issues. She was directed to bring him to the Ohio Highway Patrol Lisbon post, where they would be met by EMS.

Murphy met them first with an AED and utilized his prior training to provide "calm and comforting words" and gather critical information until EMS arrived.

While the man was being treated in the back of an ambulance, Murphy noticed a commotion and realized the man was experiencing full cardiac arrest.

Murphy told the EMS personnel from North Star Critical Care about his prior experience and they allowed him into the back of the ambulance to assist with resuscitation efforts, which he called an "automatic response" for him.

Murphy performed chest compressions and provided oxygen to the man while communicating "valuable information to the EMTs."

"As the situation grew desperate, defibrillator shock pads were applied in preparation" and "multiple shocks were administered," the press release reads. "Those life-saving efforts brought him back to consciousness."

Once the man was deemed stable, he was flown by State Medevac air ambulance to St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Youngstown.

Murphy grew up in Poland and currently lives in the town with his wife, Christine. He