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Senior’s life saved thanks to Vernon employee

RCMP give a token of appreciation to Ewen Pitt for going above and beyond
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Ewen Pitt shaking hands with Supt. Shawna Baher while receiving the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP coin. (RCMP photo)

A city employee’s instincts helped save a local senior recently.

Ewen Pitt, a City of Vernon employee, noticed in the course of his duties on Dec. 18 that no one had seen or heard from a Vernon resident for several days. He checked with a several people who knew the man, and they advised this was unusual behaviour. Concerned for the man’s well being, Pitt contacted the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP. An officer attended to the man’s residence and found him in medical distress. The 73-year-old man was transported to Vernon Jubilee Hospital for treatment.

“Ewen listened his intuition and took the initiative to follow up on this matter,” said Supt. Shawna Baher. “Because of his dedication and caring, we were able to get this gentleman the medical assistance he needed. Ewen is just one example of the exemplary employees we have at this detachment.”

So what do you give someone for potentially saving a man’s life? A coin of course!

Baher presented Pitt with a Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP coin Jan. 7 as a small token of appreciation for going above and beyond in his work.

These coins are given out by the officer in charge of the Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP in recognition of an employee’s outstanding service to the detachment or the community.

There have been 21 coins presented to employees of the Vernon-North Okanagan RCMP in the last year. Some examples of the rationales have been: administering lifesaving first aid after an overdose, community service, going above and beyond in an investigation and locating a missing person.

In Pitt’s case, he listened to his instincts and helped save a life.

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Jennifer Smith

About the Author: Jennifer Smith

Vernon has always been my home, and I've been working at The Morning Star since 2004.
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