2012 Q1 Life saver award

St. Bernard Parish Sheriff's Deputy Jorge Vargas happened to be the first officer to arrive at a residence on Deerfield Street in Chalmette to answer a call for medical assistance at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 19.

As it turned out, Vargas - who had recently graduated as a certified emergency medical technician – helped make the difference in saving the life of the victim.

The man, who was in his late ‘50s, had collapsed, was bleeding from the nose and mouth, had no pulse and was turning blue.

Vargas immediately began CPR, keeping the man alive until further medical treatment could be done and the victim survived. For his efforts, Vargas was given the Life-Saver award by the St. Bernard-Arabi Kiwanis Club, which four times a year honors St. Bernard Parish sheriff's deputies and firefighters.

Vargas, a sheriff's deputy for four years who lives in St. Bernard with his wife, Jennie, and their three boys, received the award at the club's meeting on Tuesday night, March 27.

The award is "in recognition of courageous service to our community," said Chalmette businessman Sam Catalanotto, chairman for the Life-Saver Award. Kiwanis Club President Polly Campbell also participated in the presentation.

It honors "the everyday heroic efforts of our deputies and firefighters in St. Bernard Parish," Catalanotto said. "They are the first ones in the door, or the first ones on the scene, always willing to put their lives on the line so that St. Bernard continues to be safe.''

In accepting the award, Vargas thanked the club for recognizing the work of first-responders and his wife "for her continuous support and sacrifices she has made.'' He also said he appreciated members of the First Platoon Watch of the Sheriff's Office whom he works with for their support which enabled him to attend EMT classes three nights a week at Nunez College to get his certification and "the instructors who taught me what I know.''

St. Bernard's new Chief Deputy Richard Baumy and Vargas' supervisors Maj. Mark Poche, Maj. Mitch Roussell and Lt. Robert Broadhead – as well as Dep. Brian Canepa who assisted Vargas at the victim's residence - all attended for the Sheriff's Office. Jennie Vargas also attended.

When Vargas arrived at the home of the man who had collapsed it was a chaotic scene in which the man's wife was distraught but the deputy started CPR and continued compression for several minutes, circulating blood and oxygen in the victim. Then Vargas was assisted by arriving Sheriff's Dep. Canepa, who helped ventilate the man.

When Fire Department first-responders arrived, a defibrilator was used to regulate the victim's heart rhythm. Eventually the man was taken by ambulance to a hospital and later released.

Sheriff-elect James Pohlmann has said of Vargas: "The Sheriff's Office is proud whenever one of its employees makes a positive contribution to St. Bernard Parish as Dep. Vargas has done.

"Obviously he had the training and the mindset to be able to perform at the highest level in an emergency involving life or death.'"