The Utah County Commission on Feb. 12 recognized bystanders, local fire and EMS personnel and Mountain View Hospital staff for saving a soccer player who collapsed during a November 2 game at the Shooter Soccer Complex.

The meeting heard that seven people were involved in the response. Spanish Fork Fire and EMS Chief Eddie Hells and Chris Shields, director of EMS relations for Mountain View Hospital, described how teammates began CPR, used an on-site automated external defibrillator (AED) and maintained care until paramedics and hospital staff provided advanced treatment, including two stents placed in a hospital cath lab.

The county presentation emphasized the American Heart Association guidance that immediate CPR and early defibrillation significantly increase survival from sudden cardiac arrest. Chris Shields told commissioners that, on arrival, the paramedic team found a patient who was then transported to Mountain View Hospital in Payson, where interventional cardiology placed two stents to open blocked coronary arteries. Shields said the combined actions of bystanders, dispatchers, EMS and hospital staff gave the patient “the best possible chance of survival.”

Spanish Fork Fire and EMS announced on-stage awards, plaques and challenge coins to several men credited with performing on-site CPR and to the EMS and cath-lab teams. MountainStar Hospitals communications director Nate Black and others participating in the presentation introduced recipients who came forward to receive recognition; one award was presented to the spouse of a responder who was not present.

Commissioners and community partners called the event a demonstration of teamwork across bystanders, public safety and hospital systems and urged the public to learn CPR and AED use. The county also noted the value of accessible AEDs in public places.

Photos and brief remarks closed the recognition portion of the meeting; no formal county action or funding was proposed during the presentation.