Published: November 1, 2022
Shortly before 7 a.m. on Aug. 31, 2021, a school bus carrying 60 Kammerer Middle School and Ballard High School students was hit broadside by another vehicle on Ballardsville Road just east of the Norton Brownsboro Hospital campus.
Traveling separately, two Norton Healthcare employees – Erin Brown and Cristina Proffitt, R.N., – happened upon the scene of children trying to exit the bus amid smoke on the busy road.
Erin, system director for practice operations at Norton Medical Group, and Cristina, director of clinical effectiveness and care management at Norton Audubon Hospital, jumped into action.
“I saw the bus driver inside and children exiting onto this busy road. The front was smoking, and I had to help get those kids off safely,” said Cristina, who triaged kids for potential injuries.
“While I wasn’t there to offer medical support, I could bring organization and calm to a very scary and frantic situation,” Erin said.
Both helped direct the children off the bus while logging their names and collecting their parents’ contact information.
None of the children had serious injuries, but the driver of the vehicle that hit the bus died.
Norton Healthcare recently recognized Erin and Cristina with its Good Samaritan Award for their compassion.
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