Officers Revive Newborn

Northport Village police officers Devin Humphreys and Steven Golub, and 911 dispatcher Dana Gunther are commended by the Northport Village Board of Trustees and Northport Chief of Police Bill Ricca for their part in saving a newborn baby girl on Saturday.   

A baby girl born on the bathroom floor of a Northport Village home Saturday was unconscious and stopped breathing due to an airway obstruction, but was revived by a pair of village police officers, authorities said.

Northport Village police officers Devin Humphreys and Steven Golub were called to the Fifth Avenue home on a report of the birth in progress. The 911 operator, Public Safety Dispatcher Dana Gunther, remained on the line with the male caller as the officers responded.

Authorities said Gunther gave the caller instructions from the Emergency Medical Dispatch Protocol on how to care for the newborn baby girl. But it soon became clear that the baby was not breathing and Gunther relayed instructions for the caller to attempt to revive the baby.

When Humphreys and Golub arrived they found the mother sitting on the bathroom floor with the unconscious newborn in her arms and the umbilical cord still attached.

Humphreys took the baby in her arms and observed a complete airway obstruction, authorities said. She attempted to clear the airway using her fingers, but was not successful. The officers then found an eyedropper and Humphreys used it to remove fluid from the baby’s nose, mouth and throat.

Shortly after, the baby began to cough, breathe and cry.

The Northport Fire Department Rescue Squad arrived shortly after and the baby was given advanced medical care.

The mother and the child were transported to Huntington Hospital and both are expected to make a full recovery.