Columbus, Ga. (November 1, 2024) – Piedmont Columbus Regional has named deputy Chad Haynes with Piedmont Columbus Regional’s Public Safety team the organization’s First Friday Hero for the month of November.

A husband and wife were driving into town when suddenly the wife started to show signs of a stroke. The husband called ahead to the hospital to alert the Emergency Department of their arrival. Once at the hospital, Deputy Chad Haynes assisted the patient out of the car and into a wheelchair. He helped notify the triage nurse that the patient was having stroke-like symptoms, told staff the symptom onset time and notified them the patient was not taking blood thinners. Chad escorted the patient to triage and then arranged for the husband to speak with the neurologist and clarify questions since the wife was having speech difficulties.

Visit Piedmont.org/Stroke to learn more about stroke symptoms and high-quality treatment options Piedmont provides.

A ceremony with Haynes and hospital leadership will be held at a later date to commend him for his response. His 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.