MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — A security officer at Hennepin Healthcare Medical Center went above and beyond her typical duties when she helped deliver a baby in the loading zone of the emergency department.
Lacey Gonzalez went into labor a few weeks early on the morning of March 8, reports The Star Tribune. She called the hospital around 6 a.m. but she and her husband, Luis, did not immediately leave their home. Her water hadn’t broken yet and they were anticipating laboring for several hours at home before heading in.
However, labor moved quicker than they expected and within two hours, the couple headed downtown after contractions started getting stronger and closer together.
“It turned out that the second we pulled up to the emergency doors, she decided to start entering the world,” Lacey recalled.
When they arrived, Luis ran into the emergency department for help but no doctors were around. Thankfully, HCMC security officer Tiffany Owen was there and alerted medical staff before running out to the couple’s car to help.
“I saw the baby’s head sticking out about an inch,” said Owen.
Owen, who said she has trained for this potential scenario and also drew upon her own birthing experience, tried to keep Gonzalez calm and guide her through pushing.
“I was by myself for what seemed like eternity, but it was just a minute or two,” Owen said. “She continued to push. I got the baby when she was born.”
“She came to the rescue,” Lacey said during a news conference. “The whole time I just kept looking at her eyes, and all I could see was courage, and I knew everything was going to be OK.”
After the couple and their baby girl settled into the birth center, it was time to pick a name. Lacey said she looked up the name Tiffany and found it translated to “Manifestation from God.” The decision was then made to name her after the officer who delivered her.
“That’s something that I’ll go through the rest of my life with, being able to share that story,” Owen said. “My daughter thinks it’s pretty cool, I didn’t name my daughter after me.”
Owen, who has worked at HCMC since July, received an honorary midwife award for her quick actions.
