September 2015 - Parks & Recreation - 18

Community Center
Baltimore City Teenager
Turns Hero
By Catrina Belt

ince a very young age, Phillip Ellison knew he wanted to become an emergency medical technician. When he was 13 years old, he began volunteering for the Baltimore City Recreation and Parks Department (BCRP) at
Cherry Hill Splash Park pool with the goal of wearing the red and white
shirt of a lifeguard. By the next year he was hired as a pool attendant and began
training in CPR and AED, bringing him that much closer to his dreams. Now, 16
years old and a student at Vivian T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy, Phillip is already being hailed as hero after saving the life of a 5-year-old boy.
On Saturday, June 6, Phillip was
walking to his aunt's house in his
neighborhood of Cherry Hill when
he saw a young boy on a bicycle
get struck by a dirt bike rider. After witnessing the hit and run, the
future EMT jumped into action to

help the severely injured boy who
had stopped breathing. As a crowd
formed around them, Phillip's training kicked in and he began to perform CPR on the boy in the middle of Round Street. After waiting
45 minutes for the ambulance with

Philip Ellison, second from left, stands alongside Baltimore City Recreation and Parks Director Ernest Burkeen (far left), Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake (center),
Baltimore City Fire Department Chief Niles Ford (second from right) and Baltimore City
Recreation and Parks Aquatics Director Darryl Sutton (far right).
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paramedics to arrive, the boy was
transported to the hospital where he
remained in critical condition.
Today the boy is doing well and
Phillip is being regarded as a hero
by his family, friends and community. " We are very proud, but not surprised. We train first responders and
provide constant in-service trainings
to prepare them for emergencies, "
says Darryl Sutton, aquatics director
for BCRP. " Our pool attendants wear
blue shirts and Phillip always talked
about one day becoming a lifeguard
and getting to wear that red and white
shirt. Turns out that red and white
were only colors because as a pool attendant, Phillip was ready.
" Phillip and countless others give
us their summers and in exchange we
give them skills for a lifetime, " Sutton continues. " Many of our staff
go on to become firemen, police,
teachers, etc. and touch the community in ways one could never imagine.
When I think about Phillip and his
accomplishment at his young age, I
feel very proud to work, train and interact within the city of Baltimore. "
On June 10, at City Hall in front
of his family and community, Phillip was recognized for his heroism
by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie
Rawlings-Blake. " After a 5-year
old boy was hit by a dirt bike earlier this week, this brave young man
leapt into the fray, " Mayor Rawlings-Blake said before presenting
Phillip with his Mayoral Citation.
" Because of his training - and that

September 2015 - Parks & Recreation

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