Service member uses medical skills on commercial flight Published July 16, 2010 By Airman 1st Class Chase Hedrick 14th Flying Training Wing, Public Affairs COLUMBUS AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- On June 20 a BLAZE team member got a unique opportunity to assist with a medical emergency - thousands of feet in the air. Maj. Genevieve Stratton, a nurse with the 14th Medical Operations Squadron, said she was flying from Atlanta, Georgia to the Golden Triangle Regional Airport, Miss., on Father's Day afternoon when several rows ahead of her a 55-year-old female passenger passed out. Major Stratton used basic medical techniques such as those learned in Self Aid and Buddy Care to help her fellow passenger. She said she was able to revive the passenger and ask some basic questions to help assess her current state. Major Stratton said she found the passenger to be perspiring and dazed with elevated blood sugar. She said the patient told her she had not eaten or hydrated in a while, which combined with the extreme heat she had been experiencing that day probably caused the symptoms. Major Stratton said she used only her SABC skills and the minimal supplies on hand to provide care for the passenger. The passenger was able eat and drink a little to help alleviate her symptoms, and the airline switched the major's seat next to the passenger so she could watch over her for the remainder of the flight. Major Stratton said she recommended paramedics on scene when the plane landed, and when the flight touched down they were greeted by an ambulance that took the passenger to Baptist Memorial Hospital - Golden Triangle, Miss. "It's just instinctive as a nurse to just act before you think, but any other person with minimal medical training such as self aid and buddy care could have done just as well," she said. BLAZE well done to Major Stratton!