Opelika, Al. (December 6, 2024) – Piedmont Columbus Regional has named Charlie Couey, Tom Shaffer and Jesse Phelps with Alabama LifeSaver the organization’s First Friday Heroes for the month of December.

An Opelika man was mowing his grass one evening when he suddenly fell over. Once on-scene, EMS determined the man had suffered a stroke. They called for the LifeSaver helicopter crew, which provided an immediate transport to Piedmont Columbus Regional Midtown. Once at the hospital, the patient was given a clot busting medication. Interventional Radiology staff performed a thrombectomy procedure— removing the blood clot from the patient’s brain. As a result of the quick interventions by the LifeSaver crew, the patient’s stroke symptoms resolved and he made a good recovery.

A ceremony with Couey, Shaffer and Phelps and hospital leadership will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 10 at 9 a.m. to commend them for their response. Their story is also featured throughout the hospital on commemorative posters and Piedmont Columbus Regional’s social media pages.

Piedmont Columbus Regional created the First Friday Hero program in mid-2016 to recognize first responders each month who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

“Their line of work is often a thankless job and we want to make the community aware of our local heroes and all they do to make the Chattahoochee Valley a better and safer place,” said Piedmont Columbus Regional CEO Scott Hill.